What is Thanksgiving and when did the Thanksgiving tradition begin?
While Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks around a meal with family, Friends Festival is a time for drinks, food, and games with friends.
The informal holiday has been widely celebrated in its own right, with friends often planning meals, decorations and games for the occasion. Even President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are holding an early Thanksgiving with service members in North Carolina at Fort Bragg.
It’s not clear how long people have been celebrating Friends Day but the term has been around since 2007 and is only showing signs of growing in popularity.
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When is Friends Day celebrated?
The term Friends Festival was coined in 2007 but became more popular in 2011 when Bailey’s Irish Cream used the word in an advertising campaign, according to Merriam-Webster. In 2013, it was widely used and circulated, according to Google search data.
The unofficial holiday is usually celebrated the weekend before Thanksgiving, which falls on a Thursday. Lizzie Post, co-chair of Emily Post Institute speak.
Making friends is also a “less stressful” option for some people as they prepare to spend the holiday with their family.
“It grew because of the distance, the focus on friends is family and more, but this year’s popularity has definitely skyrocketed,” the Post said.
How do people celebrate Friendship Day?
Amy Costa chose to celebrate Friends Day before traveling more than 100 miles to attend her mother’s 50-person Thanksgiving dinner. Costa, from Florida, helping with Friends Festival gave her a “mellow and stress-free” opportunity to share dinner with friends who’ve always felt like blood.
Costa told USA TODAY: “It was easier for me, there’s no stress about family reunions or awkward topics. On Friends Celebration, you picked who you wanted around your table. me”.
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For Arnold Boyd, Friends Festival is “almost twice as much fun as Thanksgiving.” Boyd, 29, from New Jersey, and close friends from college started the tradition of getting together for dinner before Thanksgiving in 2015. Each year, they take turns hosting and spending a weekend together. each other, reminiscing, playing board games, eating.
While Thanksgiving requires “better outfits and attitudes,” Thanksgiving can be a time to let loose.
“It’s a tradition to meet up with friends and make them like family first. It’s fun, we play games, we drink, and we eat turkey and ham. I grew up celebrating it. think of it like Thanksgiving,” Boyd told USA TODAY.
Post says each year she sees more families opting out of larger family gatherings and participating in smaller and more intimate Friends Festivals. Why? “Friends are family too. For some people, friends are the only family they have,” Post said.
Friends celebrations can be celebrated with a big party or just take away, be it a short event or an entire weekend. The main reason for the growth of Friendship is to shed light on the value of friendship during the holidays.
“Friends are important, friends are everything to some people so Friends Festival gives everyone a chance to celebrate and hug those special people,” Post said.
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