The FINANCIAL — Thanksgiving means different things to different people. For some it's all about the parade. For others, it's a chance to see family and friends.
The FINANCIAL — Thanksgiving means different things to different people. For some it's all about the parade. For others, it's a chance to see family and friends. For a few, it's become about the sales and strategizing on how to hit the best ones. But for many it's about giving thanks, and more than two in five Americans (43%) say they have about as much to be thankful for as a few years ago, while 38% say they have more to be thankful for than a few years ago. Just over one in ten U.S. adults (14%) say they have less to be thankful for than a few years ago, according to The Harris Poll.
This year, fewer Americans feel they have more to be thankful for than said so in 2010 (41%), but it's about the same as in 1974 (when this question was first asked) and 1980 (38% and 37%, respectively). However, in 1983 half of Americans said they had more to be thankful for (50%), which is more than in any other year this has been asked.
Looking at some specific items, Americans have a lot to be thankful for. Over three-quarters of Americans are thankful because of the health of their family (85%), because of their family relationships (84%) and because technology makes it easy to stay in touch with family and friends (76%). Interestingly, in 1980 almost all Americans said they were thankful for the health of their family (96%) and because of family relationships (95%), according to the report.
While three in five Americans (62%) are thankful for their own personal economic situation, this is down from 66% in 2010 and 81% in 1980. Three in five U.S. adults (60%) are thankful for their work situation, compared to 65% who said this in 2010 and 78% who said so in 1980. What Americans are not thankful for is the economic situation of the United States, as 62% say they are not thankful for this while 17% are thankful. In 1984, 78% were thankful for the economic situation of the U.S. and in 1988 59% were thankful; in 2010 that number was 23%.
And, for many Americans, Thanksgiving is all about the food. When asked which of these traditional food dishes people look forward to the most, two in five U.S. adults (40%) say it's the turkey while one in five (21%) look forward to the stuffing. Smaller numbers look forward to pumpkin pie (13%), potatoes whether mashed (9%) or sweet (7%) and the cranberry sauce, jelly or relish (4%). Men are more likely than women to look forward to the turkey (46% vs. 35%), while women are more likely to look forward to the pumpkin pie (14% vs. 10%), according to the report.
While cooking there are always the grumblings about "wouldn't it be easier to just go out for dinner," the truth is that over three-quarters of Americans (78%) disagree with that and say they would rather eat in a restaurant than cook Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe it's because of the leftovers, as nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) agree that even more important than Thanksgiving dinner is eating the leftovers.
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