Many cultures have celebrated harvests for centuries. Thesmophria is an ancient Greek harvest festival. South West Indian carrying a Corn Dance, celebrate Sukkot, the Jewish people, the end of the agricultural year standings table and falls with the last harvest before the onset of winter, and many Asian cultures have celebrations in gratitude for their rich rice harvest.

The Romans celebrated a harvest festival called Cerelia which honored Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, grain, and the fertility (and the word comes from the cereal).The festival is every year on 4 October and offers the first fruits of the harvest were offered to Ceres. Their celebration included music, parades, games and sports, and a party.

But Thanksgiving in Italy? How about celebrating the Celtic New Year in Japan, or El Carnaval in Russia? The typical American tradition, memories of pilgrims on a rich harvest in the New World do not translate well into another country, where the Plymouth Rock was just another stone in 2 to 1000 years old Roman archaeological sites. Transliteral also set in Italian for Thanksgiving, La Festa del Ringraziamento refers to a variety of religious holidays throughout the year for the patron saint.

Italian Thanksgiving, for most Italian-Americans, the inclusion of special Italian recipes to accompany the roast turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November.

Like Julia Robert in Eat Pray Love you can eat a delicious food eat while enjoying the city.

Each family of Italian descent has several culinary traditions of the holiday. An Italian Thanksgiving dinner is ravioli con la zucca (pumpkin ravioli), tacchinella alla Melagrana (roast turkey rubbed with pomegranate sauce and served with a pomegranate-and-Giblet gravy), sweet Italian turkey sausage and mozzarella stuffing, baked sweet potatoes with lime and ginger, and also the Italian cakes and pastries.