There are more Thanksgiving customs than just gobbling all you can until you waddle from the table. I mean, sure, it's all about turkey and tasty goodness. But the origins and history of Thanksgiving are part of what makes is a wonderful, rich holiday.

Or check here for a whole page on creating your own Thanksgiving traditions with your family.

It was 1621 when the English colonists gathered with Native Americans for that first legendary feast. How much do we know about that first Thanksgiving? Well, historians aren't sure that this was the very first time a food exchange occurred between the native Americans and the new settlers (or even exactly how the feast was coordinated). But what we do know is that this date is the first time a written record was made of it-- and the new American settlers were pretty excited about the event. After suffering as much as they did, they were really grateful for the meal.

For the settlers, that meal was at first thought of as a one-time thing-- they had no idea this event would become the cornerstone of the Thanksgiving customs we now share throughout the United States and Canada.

However, that first celebration didn't resemble our modern traditions much. The meat served was likely goose or duck. And there was probably a bit of fish there, too. There were no potatoes, no pie, no stuffing, and --gasp!!-- no cranberries. What did they have with their goose or duck? Herb salad, grapes, plums and perhaps corn. Not your idea of a modern Thanksgiving dinner, is it?

After this first legendary Thanksgiving dinner, the stories of this feast grew and were passed down through the generations. Different Thanksgiving customs developed, and over the years the idea of Thanksgiving as an ongoing holiday developed.

In fact, the US isn't the only nation to have an official day to give thanks and share a meal. Canada (whose Thanksgiving falls in October), Brazil, Japan, Liberia, and Switzerland also have Thanksgiving customs all their own. In fact, they may have had the tradition of Thanksgiving even longer than Americans have-- it wasn't until 1941 when Thanksgiving day became what it is now. It was on that day that the date was set by President Roosevelt as the fourth Thursday each November as the official Thanksgiving observance.

Today, Thanksgiving customs vary hugely from family to family. One family may cook up a big ol goose like the old settlers, while another does a large roast turkey, a deep fried bird, a tarducken, or a stuffed vegetarian Thanksgiving squash. And we all know that Thanksgiving dinner isn't Thanksgiving dinner unless our favorite potatoes-bread-veggies-casserole-cranberries-salad is on the table. And how your family celebrates often depends not only on where you live but also on your cultural background.

There are a few Thanksgiving customs and traditions, however, that seem nearly universal.

Giving Thanks. It's not all about the food! First is the "reason for the season" – being thankful, of course! To celebrate this, many families will do a Thanksgiving story exchange, sharing stories about those things for which they've been grateful in the last year. Others might send out a family letter or a card expressing their blessings. Still others go to church or to temple before gathering for their meals.

But no matter what, most Thanksgiving dinners have that wonderful reflective element-- staying focused on the positive and being grateful for what you have..

Stuffing Yourself Silly. A second custom (and of course the best one by far!) is the huge Thanksgiving feast you share with family and/or friends. Thanksgiving is a time to be with the people you love without some of the gift-giving pressures of other holidays. People drive and fly from all over to gather together and celebrate. In some homes people welcome neighbors or co-workers to the table who could not be with their families. The table is lavish and filled with all manner of seasonal fixings for all to enjoy. Find some ideas for those here!

The Turkey. Because Thanksgiving revolves around food, many Thanksgiving customs tie very closely to feast. For example, some families have roast turkey nearly religiously (and may even have a "secret family recipe" for preparing the bird). In other families, it's all about the side dishes-- those few particular side dishes must be on the table or it simply isn't the same. While the actual food may differ, there's generally a universal sense that honoring traditions and passing them down to other generations is what Thanksgiving is all about.

Lucky Bird. Another Thanksgiving custom in the U.S.: the Presidential pardon. Since 1947 one turkey has received a Presidential Pardon. That bird will live its life, safe from the dinner table.

After Dinner Kick-Off. After dinner rituals are just as important as the meal itself... and no after-dinner ritual is as important as football. Ever since 1934, there has been an afternoon Thanksgiving football game (with the exception of World War II). Don't belong to a family of football fans? Other families go to a Thanksgiving Day parade or watching one on TV. The famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in particular has been around since 1924!

Pulling Out Your Credit Card. If the men get football, the best Thanksgiving custom (at least in the US) for us women is shopping. Christmas-oriented sales kick into full gear the weekend following Thanksgiving. And while there are still plenty of shopping days left before Christmas, a lot of people take advantage of the opportunity to save money.

There are lots of different Thanksgiving traditions that everybody adheres to: the meal, the family, the giving of thanks. But what makes the day truly special is what your family chooses to do with it. Create traditions of your own: a special breakfast to have the morning of. A special movie you watch while the turkey is digesting. A special game the kids play while the adults are in the kitchen.

No matter what your traditions are, what makes Thanksgiving so wonderful is the mood of gratitude and appreciation for the year past… and for what is yet to be.