One of the perks of being a MedPro International Explorer and beginning your healthcare career in the United States is discovering and celebrating the many holidays observed here. Thanksgiving, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November each year, is a uniquely American event. The national holiday commemorates the harvest feast held in October 1621 by Pilgrims and Indigenous people in Plymouth, Massachusetts, though historians have offered a very different account of those events.
Rich in symbolism and legend, Thanksgiving is a day of remembrance, thanks, and festivity celebrated amongst family and friends with a large meal. Most people are off work, with many businesses and other places of employment closed, along with banks and federal, state, and local government offices, including the U.S. Postal Service.
Thanksgiving was not proclaimed a national holiday until 1863. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. Every president following Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November, but it wasn’t until 1942 that an official date was set. President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated every fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving.
A Classic American Thanksgiving Meal
Food is at the heart of the celebration! While dishes vary from one household to another, you can expect to see some of these favorites:
🍗 Roast Turkey (or vegetarian alternatives such as Gardein Holiday Roast or stuffed squash) – the centerpiece of most Thanksgiving tables
🥔 Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
🌽 Corn, Green Beans, and Other Vegetables
🍠 Sweet Potatoes or “Yams” (often topped with marshmallows!)
🍞 Stuffing or Dressing
🍞 Dinner Rolls
🥧 Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, or Pecan Pie
For International Explorers, this holiday is a chance to give thanks for their new careers, family, and new friends, while also putting their own spin on the celebration by incorporating the foods and traditions of their home cultures. If you’re throwing a Thanksgiving gathering or you were invited to one, bring a dish from your home country, like pancit, ugali, plantains, callaloo, or bibingka. Americans love trying new!
New Traditions, New Experiences
Beyond the meal, there are many activities associated with the holiday, including Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a huge televised parade in New York City featuring colorful floats, marching bands, and giant balloons. Watching American Football Games is a major part of the holiday for many families, so just be ready to pick a team! And many of our newest MedPro International Explorers will be attending the 14th Annual Fort Lauderdale Turkey Trot. The annual tradition brings over 3,000 runners and walkers to A1A along Fort Lauderdale Beach for a morning 5k to kick off the holiday.
Regardless of how you celebrate, the MedPro International community is proud of your resilience, dedication, and the sacrifices you make to pursue your career in the U.S. You are building a new life, and that is something truly worth celebrating.
Whether you come from the Philippines, Kenya, the Caribbean, or one of the many other countries MedPro International Explorers call home, Thanksgiving offers a special opportunity to connect with American culture while creating new memories of your own.