Thanksgiving is an annual holiday celebrated by a number of countries on various dates, usually in Autumn. Historically, the most well known versions of Thanksgiving were used to celebrate and give thanks for a successful harvest season, though modern Thanksgivings are used to be thankful for the preceding year.
Many countries have a Thanksgiving celebration, though they do not all have the same origins.
America celebrates Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November, and has been celebrating since around 1619, when a religious celebration occurred following a good harvest. The Pilgrims celebrated alongside Native Americans in the very first American Thanksgiving. To celebrate, families get together and have a feast, usually involving turkey, mashed potatoes, autumn vegetables, cranberries and pumpkin pie. Before the meal, families say grace and give thanks before eating. Parades were added as a Thanksgiving tradition from 1924, and sports have become a big part of American Thanksgiving.
In Canada Thanksgiving takes place on the second Monday of October, to celebrate the close of the harvest season. Though the holiday has roots in religion, nowadays it is mostly celebrated in a secular manner. Like American Thanksgiving, Canadians celebrate with a large meal including turkey, roast beef or ham with stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, autumn vegetables and cranberry sauce. Canadian Football is usually a big part of Thanksgiving, and many communities in Canada also hold events leading up to the holiday, including harvest festivals and parades.
Australia, Brazil, Grenada, Liberia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Rwanda and Saint Lucia all have their own versions of Thanksgiving, most taking place in Autumn. Some have roots in American Thanksgiving, while others are completely unrelated.
The UK also has Thanksgiving celebrations, though we know them by different names. Many churches and schools celebrate the Harvest Festival, which doesn’t have an official date but is usually celebrated in late September or early October. Guy Fawkes Day is also officially a national day of thanksgiving:
Who Was Guy Fawkes?
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