Thanksgiving is a holiday on which one gives thanks to God for all that we have been blessed with during the year. Historically, it commemorates the successful harvest that settlers received when they first arrived in North America. It is observed in both Canada and the US. Its primary origin being a harvest festival, it is celebrated at different times in the two countries due to the difference in climate.

Typically, Thanksgiving is celebrated by having a large family meal. The Thanksgiving meal centers around a roasted turkey. Along with turkey, other traditional foods include corn, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, baked squash, and pumpkin pie. Some cities host Thanksgiving Day Parades, others have pageants depicting historic events. Many churches will hold special Thanksgiving services. In the United States, watching football games is a very popular Thanksgiving activity.

The first known Thanksgiving celebration in North America was in 1578. Martin Forbiser led a group of colonists in a formal ceremony to give thanks for surviving the long journey from England to Newfoundland. As more settlers arrived, these ceremonies were continued.

Shortly after, Samuel Champlain, and his French colonists, held a huge Thanksgiving feast to celebrate their safe crossing of the Atlantic, and to share goodwill and food with their Indian neighbors. They also continued the tradition.

The first Thanksgiving in the United States was held in1619, by a group of English settlers on the James River in Virginia. Their colonial charter required that they observe one day a year as Thanksgiving to God for their success.

In 1621, at Plymouth, Massachusetts, a group of English settlers called the Pilgrims held their first Thanksgiving Celebration in October. They thanked God for their first harvest. The feast was attended by over 90 local Indians. The harvest would not have been so successful had it not been for the assistance of these friendly Indians, the Wampanoags. They helped the settlers by sharing food, game, and knowledge of local crops with them. The Indians introduced the settlers to new foods including corn, pumpkin, winter squash, cranberries, potatoes, and wild turkey. These foods have become the traditional foods served during the Thanksgiving meal. In the United States, the Thanksgiving holiday is mainly attributed to the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving.

As the New England Colonies grew, during the 1600s and 1700s, settlers began to spread into areas which are now Canada. They brought with them the tradition of celebrating the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving.

In 1782, the Continental Congress of the United Sates issued a proclamation making November 28 the General Day of Thanksgiving. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a US legal holiday to be observed on the 4th Thursday of November.

In 1879 the Canadian Parliament made Thanksgiving a national holiday. It was originally placed on November 6th. In 1957 the government established the holiday on its present date the second Monday of October.

Note: This holiday is one of Calendar Mine's over 500 built-in observances.

See Also

Holiday Catalogue

American (USA) Observances