Thanksgiving is not jus a North American celebration

When New England was established, the pilgrim colony at the Plymouth Massasachusetts celebrated the first Thanksgiving. History may indicate that the earliest Thanksgiving may have been celebrated almost 75 years earlier. That first Thanksgiving is often remembered for the sharing of food, and opportunities that the new country had brought.
Without the food from the natives of the area, it likely that colony would not have survived that first year as successfully as it did.
Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated primarily in North America by Canadians and Americans. In Canada Thanksgiving day falls on the second Monday of October. In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
I didn’t know about other countries Thanksgiving celebrations until Adam my youngest son who now lives in Korea, told me that last weekend, Koreans celebrated Chuseok. It is also know as a day of togetherness. Families come together, share special foods and visit. The visit also includes a visit to cemeteries to thank their ancestors for the bounty of the land and the successful harvest.
The Chinese Thanksgiving is called the August Moon Festival and occurs at the same time as the Korean holiday and is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Family and friends send each other moon cakes as a form of giving thanks. Legend has it that the moon is brightest on that day.
The Vietnamese have a similar celebration at the same time, but call it the Tet-Trung Thu and is also known as the Children’s Festival. The activities of the day are mainly for children and education. Before the sun rises, parents give their children lanterns so that they can participate in the Candlelit Lantern Procession. The lanterns represent brightness, while the procession represents success.
Their traditions are similar to those of North America. Family feasting is traditional to our Thanksgiving and the prayers of Thankfulness are shared in churches across both countries. Families travel and visit. Turkey has been the traditional dinner since the mid 1800’s. And pumpkin pie is the traditional dessert.
If we trace history farther back, the Greeks called their Harvest Festival Thesmoshporia which honoured the goddess of grains, Demeter each autumn. The Romans had their Thanksgiving harvest festival that honoured the goddess of corn Ceres.
Other countries around the world have a celebration of Thanksgiving. In the northern hemispheres, the celebrations take place in the months of September and October. In the southern hemispheres, the celebration takes place in the months of May and April.
Even though cultures celebrate Thanksgiving in different methods and focus on different traditions, cultures do give thanks for the bounty of the harvest and choose to celebrate their own unique Thanksgivings with family.
I hope that you have a good Thanksgiving this weekend.

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher