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| Observed by | Canada, United States |
| Type | National |
| Date | 2nd Monday in October (Canada) 4th Thursday in November (U.S.) |
| 2024 date | October 14, 2024 (Canada); November 28, 2024 (U.S.) |
| 2025 date | October 13, 2025 (Canada); November 27, 2025 (U.S.) |
Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is primarily a North American holiday which has generally become a national secular holiday with religious origins.
The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. Though the earliest attested Thanksgiving celebration was on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida, the traditional "first Thanksgiving" is venerated as having occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621.
Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends.
Canada
Main article: Thanksgiving (Canada)Thanksgiving in Canada, occurs on the second Monday in October and Canadians give thanks at the close of the harvest season. Although some people thank God for this bounty, the holiday is mainly considered secular.
United States
Main article: Thanksgiving (United States)Most people celebrate by gathering at home with family or friends for a holiday feast. Though the holiday's origins can be traced to harvest festivals which have been celebrated in many cultures since ancient times, the American holiday has religious undertones related to the deliverance of the English settlers by Native Americans after the brutal winter at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
The period from Thanksgiving Day to New Year's Day often is called the holiday season.
Grenada
In Grenada there is a national holiday of Thanksgiving Day on 25 October. It is unrelated to holidays in Canada and the United States even though it bears the same name and occurs around the same time. It marks the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of the island in 1983 in response to the deposition and execution of Grenadan Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.
Netherlands
A Thanksgiving Day service is held in Leiden’s 15th century gothic church. The Pilgrims stopped in Leiden on their way to the Americas.
References
- USA Today article reporting research into the purportedly first Thanksgiving in St. Augustine, FL
- See also NYTimes article of Nov 25, 2008
- The Globe and Mail
- Grenada Board of Tourism official website
- "Dutch town". The World (radio program). Retrieved 2008-11-28.
The Pilgrims arrived in Leiden in 1609, after fleeing religious persecution in England. Leiden welcomed them because it needed immigrants to help rebuild its textile industry, which had been devastated by a long revolt against Spain. Here, the Pilgrims were allowed to worship as they wanted, and they even published their arguments calling for the separation of church and state. Jeremy Bangs directs the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum. He says the Pilgrims quickly adopted several Dutch customs, like civil marriage and Thanksgiving.
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External links
- Thanksgiving: The Jewish Perspective on Chabad.org
- Deconstructing the Myths of “The First Thanksgiving”
- Thanks, but No Thanks”