Yesterday, a nation put life on hold. From Phoenix to Providence, the people of the United States celebrated Thanksgiving - a holiday devoted to giving thanks.

Thanksgiving is one of the most significant dates in the US. An estimated 276 million Americans spent the afternoon eating dinner with family. 

They consumed 40 million turkeys, 80 million pounds of cranberries and $96m worth of stuffing, followed up with 50 million pumpkin pies. They gave thanks for the people that brought them happiness.

The First Thanksgiving is traditionally said to be in 1621, the story goes that pilgrim settlers and members of the native WampanoagA loose confederation of tribes. Their relationship with the settlers is not quite as the story of Thanksgiving tells it. The settlers brought across smallpox which turned into a deadly epidemic. Hundreds of Wampanoag died. The colonists took their land and sold survivors into slavery. tribe came together for a feast to celebrate the harvest.

In 1789, George Washington declared the first formal Thanksgiving, then in 1863 Abraham Lincoln made it a holiday. It has since grown to include traditions, including the world's largest parade and the presidential turkey pardoningSince 1989, the US president annually "pardons" two turkeys from being eaten..

Thanksgiving might be good. One paper asked 172 students to record their feelings. It found that most felt more positive on Thanksgiving than other days. 

Psychologists claim that giving thanks can lift us up. As Harvard professor Arthur C Brooks says: "Thankfulness has been strongly and consistently shown to raise human beings' happiness." Gratitude stimulates the part of our brain that rewards us, makes us more resilient and strengthens our bonds with others.

Thanksgiving is only observed in a handful of countriesAs well as the US, thanksgiving days are celebrated in Canada, Liberia, Grenada and Saint Lucia.. Perhaps it should be marked everywhere. Unlike Christmas - which has become a celebration of consumerismSociety's obsession with acquiring consumer goods. - Thanksgiving asks us to be grateful for what we have.

History is full of figures who have found happiness in gratitude. The Buddha taught that thankfulness was on the road to NirvanaA state of being in which there is no suffering or doubt. In Buddhism, this also means freedom from the endless cycle of death and rebirth that Buddhists believe is common to all Earthly life.. Christian saint Francis of Assisi practiced a "joyful asceticismA phrase used by the British writer GK Chesterton to describe St Francis. Asceticism is the avoidance of indulgence. " that celebrated living things.

Giving thanks can make us happier. Some think a day of celebration is not the best route. Thanksgiving makes Americans happier, but can cause stress.

If gratitude is always good, why limit it? Like the Buddha and St Francis, we should thread it through our lives and show our thankfulness whenever we can. Thanksgiving should be a state of life.

Yes. Everyone feels gratitude. Thanksgiving gives people space to come together so that the positive effects of thankfulness are magnified. Plus, a festive feast is never a bad thing.

No. It is all well and good for citizens of the world's richest country to gather for a big dinner and express thanks. But to ask residents of poverty-filled nations to join hands in gratitude is at best insensitive. No-one should be forced to feel grateful.