Thanksgiving Day: Meaning, History, and Facts
Thanksgiving Day is an annual national holiday in the United States and Canada that honors the harvest and other blessings of the past year.
Origins and Historical Observance
Americans generally trace their Thanksgiving tradition to a 1621 harvest feast shared by the Pilgrims of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people. Early colonists in New England and Canada often observed days of thanksgiving as moments of prayer for safe travels, military victories, or plentiful harvests.
Canadians associate their earliest thanksgiving celebration with 1578, when explorer Martin Frobisher held a ceremony to give thanks for a safe passage.
Date and Celebration
- In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, as established by a 1941 congressional resolution and a proclamation by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- Since 1957, Canada has observed Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October.
In both countries, family and friends come together to share a meal and partake in festivities.
Traditional Foods
Typical Thanksgiving fare in the United States includes turkey, cranberries, and pumpkin pie.
"Americans model their holiday on a 1621 harvest feast shared between the Wampanoag people and the English colonists known as Pilgrims."
Author's summary: Thanksgiving celebrates gratitude for past blessings, with roots in early North American colonial harvest feasts and enduring family-centered traditions today.