> It is obviously a National Holiday along the lines of Easter or Christmas, though not based on religion, but started by the Founding Fathers celebrating for still being alive in a hostile foreign land having only been there a few years. (Or something like that.)

That's not a bad summary, though I will refrain from any commentary on the negative side. (That's what happens when you read "Lies My Teacher Told Me," though it didn't really make me utterly and completely pessimistic.) No, it's not a religious holiday, but in a way it is, because it's a day many use as a time to give thanks for everything they have.

> What makes up the actual day of celebration for the average American?

Families get together and eat a huge, 312-course meal including things like turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and pie. Some of them watch (American) football, because that's been a tradition for something like 50 years. The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City lasts for three hours and is broadcast on TV. A lot of people stuff themselves full of all the good food, take a nap and then have more food in the evening.

If you were in my house about 15 years ago, you didn't eat dinner until 8 p.m. because your mother turned off the oven when she went to baste the turkey, and then forgot to turn it back on. That's always a fun story to tell.

> Is it a massively commercialized celebration, the way Christmas seems to be heading?

Most stores -- except for grocery stores, because they sell the food that goes on the Thanksgiving dinner table -- go straight from Halloween to Christmas before you can even blink. The only role Thanksgiving plays is that every store opens at stupid o'clock in the morning on the day after Thanksgiving, and people rush to the stores to catch huge sales that typically last for four hours. I was at Wal-Mart at 6 a.m. two years ago, and it was insane. The line was wrapped around a good part of the building, and as soon as they opened, people rushed in. The store ran out of shopping baskets, but people kept coming. Being the weirdo that I am, I thought it was the most fascinating thing ever, so I think I might go experience the madness again tomorrow.

Ell"Oh, and a lot of people put up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving"myruh