Thanksgiving is Coming

Thanksgiving is coming.  We've celebrated it for a very long time but did you ever wonder if it was celebrated in any other countries?  I have but I've never done anything on the thought until today.

The United States has been celebrating it since the first settlers managed to survive their first winter or two.

There are seven other countries who celebrate Thanksgiving or something similar to it. Our nearest neighbor Canada has been celebrating Thanksgiving since 1578.  Originally, it was celebrated on November 6th but in 1957, it was moved to October on the second Monday.  The menu is roughly the same was the one in the United States.

Germany celebrates a fall harvest festival on the first Sunday of October where they give thanks for a good crop and good harvest. In Germany, they are more likely to eat chickens, roosters, or geese.  The big difference with this festival is that it is a religious based one celebrated in both the city and countryside.

Japan celebrates a thanksgiving every November 23rd to celebrate the hard work of its people.  It was created back in 1948 to celebrate the hard work of people in post war Japan.  Today the celebration is lead by the unions but they include crafts for the children and provide gifts for the local police officers.

Grenada has a thanksgiving due to the United States.  Their thanksgiving is celebrated on October 25th to celebrate the United States assistance in restoring order to the country in 1983. At the time, the soldiers stationed there told the people about thanksgiving so the people worked in secret to provide a meal including a turkey and all the goodies.  Today it is celebrated as a remembrance of the occasion. 

Liberia has a thanksgiving celebration due to the freed slaves who returned home.  They brought the tradition with them and now it is celebrated with baskets of food being brought to churches.  These are auctioned off and then everyone returns home to eat.  There is also lots of music and dancing.

The Netherlands celebrates the fact that 40 percent of the people on the Mayflower started out in that country.  England was just a stop over on the trip.  Today, Leiden celebrate with a nondenominational church service on the 4th Thursday of November and offers a nice treat of coffee and cookies after the service.

The Norfolk Islands celebrates Thanksgiving due to American whalers.  Back in the 1890's an American whaler suggested decorating the local church with the idea of attracting whalers to celebrate Thanksgiving.  He died before the next thanksgiving but the locals did it and it became a tradition.

So thanksgiving is not only celebrated in the United States.