Thanksgiving facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Thanksgiving Day |
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A traditional American Thanksgiving dinner
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| Observed by | States
Territories Other |
| Type | National, cultural |
| Date | 2nd Monday in October (Canada) 1st Thursday in November (Liberia) Last Wednesday in November (Norfolk Island) Fourth Thursday in November (U.S., Puerto Rico) |
| 2025 date | October 13, 2025 (Canada); November 6, 2025 (Liberia); |
| 2026 date | October 12, 2026 (Canada); November 5, 2026 (Liberia); |
Thanksgiving Day is a special holiday celebrated in several countries. These include Canada, the United States, some Caribbean islands, and Liberia. It started as a day to give thanks for a good harvest and for all the good things that happened during the past year.
Similar holidays are also celebrated in Germany and Japan. In Canada, Thanksgiving is on the second Monday of October. In the United States, it's on the fourth Thursday of November. Even though it has religious roots, Thanksgiving is now mostly a non-religious holiday for many people.
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The History of Thanksgiving
Giving thanks and holding special ceremonies after harvests are common in almost all religions. The history of Thanksgiving in North America comes from English traditions. These traditions began during the Protestant Reformation, a time when the Christian church in Europe changed a lot. Thanksgiving also has parts of a harvest festival, celebrating the end of the growing season.
In England, special days of thanksgiving and religious services became important during the English Reformation. This was when King Henry VIII changed the number of religious holidays. Before 1536, there were many Church holidays, plus Sundays, when people had to go to church and not work. The changes in 1536 reduced these holidays.
Some religious groups, called Puritans, wanted to remove all Church holidays, even Christmas and Easter. They wanted to replace them with special "Days of Fasting" or "Days of Thanksgiving." Days of Fasting were for bad events, like droughts or floods. Days of Thanksgiving were for good events, seen as blessings from God. For example, a Day of Thanksgiving was held after England won against the Spanish Armada in 1588.
Thanksgiving in Canada
Some historians believe the first Thanksgiving in North America happened in 1578. This was during Martin Frobisher's trip from England to find the Northwest Passage. However, other researchers say there isn't a clear story about how Canadian Thanksgiving started.
The holiday's roots in Canada might also come from French settlers in New France in the 1600s. They celebrated their successful harvests with feasts. These feasts often continued through the winter, and they even shared food with the indigenous peoples living there.
Later, settlers from New England came to Nova Scotia after 1700. They brought their own late autumn Thanksgiving celebrations. Newcomers from Ireland, Scotland, and Germany also added their traditions. Many parts of American Thanksgiving, like eating turkey, came to Canada when United Empire Loyalists moved there during the American Revolution.
Thanksgiving in the United States
In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving holiday is often linked to a celebration in 1621 at Plymouth Colony in what is now Massachusetts. It's also connected to an event in Virginia in 1619. The 1621 Plymouth feast was held after a good harvest.
Pilgrims and Puritans who moved from England in the 1620s and 1630s brought their traditions of "Days of Fasting" and "Days of Thanksgiving" to New England. In 1619, 38 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Hundred in Virginia. Their group's rules from the London Company said that their arrival day should be a "day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."
Several early Thanksgiving days were held in New England. These include Pilgrim holidays in Plymouth in 1621 and 1623. There was also a Puritan holiday in Boston in 1631. Some historians think the Pilgrims might have been inspired by a Thanksgiving service in Leiden, Netherlands, where they lived before coming to America. This service celebrated the end of a siege in 1574.
Later, leaders like Governor Bradford of Plymouth Colony planned Thanksgiving celebrations. However, holding an annual harvest festival didn't become a regular thing in New England until the late 1660s.
Thanksgiving announcements were mostly made by church leaders in New England until 1682. After that, both state and church leaders made them. During the American Revolution, political leaders like John Hancock and General George Washington also made Thanksgiving announcements. They gave thanks for events that helped their causes. As the first President, George Washington declared November 26, 1789, as the first nationwide Thanksgiving celebration in America.
How Thanksgiving is Celebrated
Australia
Thanksgiving is generally not celebrated in Australia. However, on Norfolk Island, which is an Australian external territory, Thanksgiving is celebrated. It happens on the last Wednesday of November. This is similar to how Americans celebrated it before World War II. The holiday was brought to the island by American whaling ships.
Canada
Thanksgiving (French: l'Action de grâce) in Canada is on the second Monday in October. It's a yearly Canadian holiday to give thanks when the harvest season ends. Even though the law mentions God, most people celebrate the holiday in a non-religious way. Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday in all Canadian provinces except for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Even there, it's still recognized and celebrated.
Grenada
On the island of Grenada in the Caribbean, there's a national holiday called Thanksgiving Day on October 25. Even though it has the same name and is around the same time as the American and Canadian Thanksgivings, it's different. This holiday marks the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of the island in 1983. This invasion happened after the Grenadian Prime Minister, Maurice Bishop, was removed from power and killed.
Liberia
In the West African country of Liberia, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the first Thursday of November. Liberia was founded in 1820 by freed black slaves from the United States.
The Netherlands
Many of the Pilgrims who later settled in Plymouth Colony lived in the city of Leiden from 1609 to 1620. They recorded important life events at the Pieterskerk (St. Peter's church). To remember this, a special Thanksgiving Day service is held each year in the Pieterskerk on the morning of American Thanksgiving Day. It honors the kindness the Pilgrims received in Leiden on their journey to the New World.
Besides this, some Protestant churches in the Netherlands observe Thanksgiving on the first Wednesday in November (called Dankdag). It is not a public holiday.
United States
Thanksgiving in the United States is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. This date was set by federal law in 1941. It has been a yearly tradition since 1863, when presidents started declaring it. Historically, Thanksgiving has been a time to celebrate the good things of the year, including the harvest. What Americans call the "Holiday Season" usually starts with Thanksgiving.
Judaism
In Reform Judaism, celebrating Thanksgiving is fine because it's seen as a non-religious celebration. Many Rabbis in Orthodox Jewish communities also allow or even encourage Thanksgiving celebrations.
Similar Holidays Around the World
Germany
The Harvest Thanksgiving Festival, Erntedankfest, is a popular German Christian festival in early October. This festival is very religious and usually doesn't include large dinners like in North America. Many churches are decorated with autumn crops arranged in front of the altar. In some places, there are religious parades. Many Bavarian beer festivals, like the Munich Oktoberfest, happen around the same time as Erntedankfest.
Japan
Labor Thanksgiving Day (勤労感謝の日, Kinrō Kansha no Hi) is a national holiday in Japan. It happens every year on November 23. The law that created this holiday, after World War II, says it's a day to remember labor and production and to thank each other. It comes from an old Shinto harvest ceremony called Niiname-sai (新嘗祭).
United Kingdom
The Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving in the United Kingdom doesn't have an official date. However, it's usually held on or near the Sunday of the harvest moon closest to the autumn equinox. Harvest Thanksgiving in Britain also has roots before Christianity. Back then, the Saxons would offer the first harvest to their gods. When the harvest was done, communities would have a supper together. When Christianity came to Britain, many of these traditions stayed. Today, churches and schools mark Harvest Thanksgiving in late September or early October. They celebrate with singing, praying, and decorating with baskets of food and fruit to give thanks for a good harvest. Food collected is often given to local charities that help people in need.
Related pages
See also
In Spanish: Día de Acción de Gracias para niños
