We ARE doing what the Pilgrims did

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So our current US 'Thanksgiving Day'  (aka 'Turkey Day')  isn't spent much on religion and is mainly spent on food and sports. It also sort of re-plays the party that 53 Pilgrims and 90 Indians had in November of  1621 in Plymouth Colony. The interesting thing is, food and sports was what the 1621 party was about too.

Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms [guns], many of the Indians coming among us, and among the rest their greatest king, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted....
 -- From a letter from Plymouth Colony leader Edward Winslow, 1621 
 

The LABEL 'Thanksgiving' was added -- by politicians -- after many years of people in various parts of the country having similar autumn celebrations, with the same main foods (turkey or fowl, corn and cornbread, pumpkin, grapes and oher fruit, and maybe cranberries). When the Pilgrims as a group thanked God for something, they made a special solemn religious occasion set aside for it: no distracting feast or games.

This article sorts it out.    http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/the-father-of-thanksgiving-how-william-bradford-started-an-american-tradition-17152/