Read: 'Thanksgiving is in November.' What is celebrated?

THANKSGIVING is on the USCIS HOLIDAYS VOCABULARY list. It is celebrated on the FOURTH THURSDAY OF NOVEMBER each year — a major American federal holiday focused on GRATITUDE, FAMILY, and the harvest. Origins: traditionally traced to a 1621 feast shared by the Pilgrims (English colonists at Plymouth) and the Wampanoag Native Americans after the colonists' first successful harvest in the New World. President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving Day in 1863 during the Civil War. In 1941, Congress made it a federal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. Sample reading test sentences: 'Thanksgiving is in November.' 'We have Thanksgiving Day.' 'Thanksgiving is a holiday.' Typical Thanksgiving traditions: FAMILY GATHERING and meal; TURKEY (centerpiece of the meal — Thanksgiving is sometimes called 'Turkey Day'); stuffing/dressing; cranberry sauce; sweet potatoes; pumpkin pie; mashed potatoes; gravy; green bean casserole. PARADES (Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, televised nationally); FOOTBALL games; the President officially 'pardons' a turkey at the White House (since the 1980s as formal tradition); volunteering at soup kitchens and food banks. The day after Thanksgiving is BLACK FRIDAY, the traditional start of Christmas shopping season — one of the busiest shopping days. Many Americans travel home for Thanksgiving, making it one of the busiest travel periods of the year.