Thanksgiving Day, also known as Thanksgiving Day, is a celebration of Christian origin that is mainly celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday of the month of November. It is recognized as a holiday and is celebrated to give thanks for the material and spiritual blessings received this year. There is no shortage of food, with turkey being the main dish.
The origin dates back to the English pilgrims who landed in the colony of Plymouth, now the state of Massachusetts, in 1620 on the ship Mayflower. They came to these lands on the other side of the Atlantic "for the glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian faith and the honor of our king and country."
The winter of the following year, in 1621, was harsh, with half of them dying due to hunger, cold and epidemics. Despite everything, that year's harvest bore fruit, being a joy and blessing for the settlers. That was thanks to contact with the Wampanoag natives of the area, who taught them how to plant beans and squash next to the cornfields, in addition to the fertilizer they use. To celebrate, both groups got together, setting up a banquet where they ate turkey, pumpkins, and nuts. That's where this special day comes from.
Although according to Paula Peters, author and professor of Native American history, the Wampaonoag were not actually going to be part of the celebrated feast. Rather, they appeared by chance. That was the prelude to the genocide and land plundering to which they have been subjected, she indicates.
Years later, in 1789, President George Washington named Thanksgiving Day a national holiday, falling that year on Thursday, November 26. From that moment on, in each state it was celebrated on different days. It was not until 1863, during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, that the last Thursday of November was established as a national day. There was a period when the president of the United States declared a holiday every month. And so, in 1941, Congress enacted the day as a legal holiday.
The USA is not the only country where this festival takes place. In neighboring Canada, it is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Also in Brazil since 1966 through Law 5110, which places it on the fourth Thursday of November. In Europe, countries like the United Kingdom and Germany celebrate similar holidays. The day is celebrated during the period of the year when crops are harvested, a time when people reflect and give thanks for the food they have. They have a different origin, but they are not as important as in the United States. The same thing happens in Leiden (Netherlands), which celebrates the holiday on the same day as the Rio country.
This is the case of the German country, where the well-known Erntedank is celebrated, which dates back to Ancient Rome or Greece and is located between the last Sunday of September or the first Sunday of October. Starting in 1972, it was established as a festival. On the designated day, a stew of the same name is prepared with pork and parboiled vegetables.
Japan celebrates a variant, Kinrō Kansha no Hi (Thanksgiving Day for Work) on November 23, depending on the day. If it is on Sunday, it is moved to Monday. It takes place when the harvest begins. It was created to create a bond between the Japanese, devastated by the damage caused by the dropping of nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 during World War II.
Other places like Liberia, it is celebrated on the first Thursday in November. But especially in the Caribbean in countries like Grenada on October 25 and Saint Lucia on the first day of the same month. Also on the continent, specifically in Norfolk (Australia) on the last Wednesday of November.
