Thanksgiving

Our guide to the day when all in America, except Native Americans and of course the turkeys, give thanks.

1. Today is Thanksgiving, the most beloved of US holidays, so that's why none of your business calls to America are being returned.

2. For most Americans, turkey day is about surviving a family visit and stuffing yourself with food until you must unfasten top buttons and loosen belts. The meal traditionally consists of turkey
cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie, all in large quantities.

3. Two public events dominate the day, and the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade in New York is one. The other is the plethora of American football games that you can happily watch from the warmth and comfort of the sofa, until you pass out from gluttony.

4. The basic ingredients of the annual feast do have a basis in culinary history: wild turkeys, pumpkins and cranberries are all native foods.

5. Every year the US president pardons a single turkey, a tradition begun by former president Harry Truman in 1947. This year George Bush pardoned a "fine looking turkey" named Katie

6. Animal rights activists argue that a single pardon does nothing to stop the annual turkey holocaust between Thanksgiving and Christmas. About 45m turkeys are eaten every year at Thanksgiving, and they would prefer you try a tofu option instead.

7. Schoolchildren are taught that the Pilgrims began the Thanksgiving tradition in 1621, to celebrate their first harvest in the new world. The feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts, lasted for three days and about 90 native Americans attended, supplying venison for the table while the settlers cooked up wild fowl.

8. There is no conclusive proof, however, that the settlers continued this tradition, and of course history records that the peaceful relations with native Americans did not last long. Local native Americans now mark the occasion with a national day of mourning

9. The state of New York began celebrating Thanksgiving as an annual holiday in 1817, and former president Abraham Lincoln made the holiday official during the civil war in 1863. He envisioned a time when Americans would stop to think critically about their good fortune, and thank God for their blessings.

10. Almost unbelievably in modern America, Thanksgiving has remained relatively uncommercialised, with no tradition of giving presents and the focus still firmly on visiting family and friends. Hallmark and that ilk, however, will not be denied, so the cards and the usual holiday kitsch are widely available.