by Peter Mertz

DENVER, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Like for others living in the United States, Thanksgiving 2020 will long be remembered by residents of Colorado, as the list of traditional ingredients for America's most celebrated family meal had never included COVID-19.

The pandemic has claimed over 1.44 million lives worldwide and 264,000 in the United States, according to data from Johns Hopkins University Friday, bringing a bitter taste to many tables across the country celebrating the oldest American holiday.

In American culture, Thanksgiving is also regarded as the beginning of the fall-winter holiday season, which includes Christmas and the New Year.

The health department of the state of Colorado shared an open letter with residents asking them to cancel Thanksgiving gatherings on Wednesday since cases surged after most major holidays, including the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Halloween.

"Wear a mask when you must go out. Stay at least six feet away from others," the letter read. "What we do in the coming days and weeks could save our lives and the lives of others. This is not an exaggeration and we are thankful in advance for your consideration of each other this holiday season."

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock also told residents in an announcement to "stay home" and forgo Thanksgiving "group gatherings" with family members.

Coloradans are concerned.

"My family was coming from Utah to see me in Colorado, but canceled due to COVID concerns," said Jessa Watkins, a teacher who moved to the Centennial State in 2003.

Retailers, who rely on Thanksgiving sales, are also feeling pain in 2020.

All 11 of Denver's big shopping malls were closed on this year's Thanksgiving as were a lengthy list of chain restaurants that had shut down operations due to COVID-19.

Retailers shuddered to see how "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving, would be impacted.

Last year, shoppers spent a record-breaking 11.1 billion U.S. dollars in online sales from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, a marketing term for the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday, according to the Adobe Digital Index.

Many businesses that are not cyber-savvy will get hammered by the lack of foot traffic this season, the National Retail Federation said.

Christopher Howes, president of the Colorado Retail Council, said Colorado retailers are making customer safety their top priority during the busy shopping season between Thanksgiving and New Year, during which some businesses in the state earn 40 percent of their annual income.

"Everybody is masked up. We haven't been able to obviously let as many people into the stores at a time," said Jen Simpson with Castle Rock Outlets, a shopping center located 45 km south of downtown Denver.

"We're hoping that it will still be a big month and that people will still come out and get their holiday shopping done a little bit earlier than maybe they usually do," Simpson told local media.