A four-day weekend in some countries is not just some ordinary holiday. Thanksgiving comes fourth Thursday of November every year, marking the wonderful harvest and year gone by.

Thanksgiving is a yearly festival celebrated in United States, Canada, some of the Caribbean Island and Liberia. After harvest each year, people thank God for the wonderful ability to grow crops and a wonderful year that went by. Mostly, the first Thanksgiving was celebrated by pilgrims in America in 1621 AD, who celebrated their first harvest.

Eventually, Canada and other countries also started celebrating Thanksgiving. It is said that 53 pilgrims and 90 native Americans feasted for three straight days. As a result, a four-day long weekend is celebrated as Thanksgiving holidays. 

The First Thanksgiving: How the Festival Originated

The pilgrims at Plymouth Rock faced a loss of their 42 out of 102 original colonists on December 11, 1620, as Mayflower arrived. The remaining pilgrims survived with the help of 91 Indians to yield and harvest bountiful in 1621.

To celebrate the harvest, they celebrated for three straight days as a gesture of thanks to uniting natives and pilgrims.
The very first Thanksgiving feast in 1621

The very first Thanksgiving dinner in 1961

The second Thanksgiving was not celebrated until 1676, when the community of Charlestown, Massachusetts pointed Thanksgiving Day to carry good fortune. In contrast to the contributions by Indians, the Indians were excluded in the second celebration. Legally, the holidays started from 1941.

Moreover, the festival started evolving and taking a new turn along with the changing cultural aspects. Now, most of the countries that celebrate Thanksgiving is adding on various factors to enhance the Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving: What it means

Originally, Thanksgiving is simply being thankful, be it being thankful for others or God. Along with the evolving customs, families are adding their own values preserving their valuables.

Uniting the people is the main motto of thanksgiving. Nowadays, Thanksgiving is also the occasion of football games, floats, parades and family reunions before Christmas. Gathering resembles the struggles, strength, and hope of everyone.

Thanksgiving is an auspicious occasion for the Westerners to express their gratitude. To have dinner together and to be thankful for what we have is what Thanksgiving is all about.

Offering what we have to help the less fortunate also signifies the occasion of thanksgiving. Elders take their time during Thanksgiving, teaching the younger generation about the happenings from the past and their struggle.

Youtube: Real story of Thanksgiving;

Thanksgiving comes right before Christmas giving a holiday vibe in November. A festival celebrated with joy, people have a feast, eat turkey, pies and send their prayers to God for giving them a wonderful year.

A typical Thanksgiving dinner

Bible reflects thanksgiving as an act of worship. During thanksgiving in spite of the flashy celebration, one must always remember to be kind. 

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