O Day of Thanksgiving, in English "Thanksgivingday”, precedes the Christmas celebrations, being celebrated in the United States every 4th Thursday of November, and in Canada, every 2nd Monday of the month of October.
In both locations, Thanksgiving is considered National holiday.
Meaning of Date
This date expresses gratitude for all the good things that happened throughout the year. Originally, the date took place after the harvest season, precisely to thank the abundance of agricultural production.
Therefore, the families gather in celebration expressing affection and gratitude. Alongside Christmas and New Year's Eve, Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays from the United States and Canada.
It is interesting to note that this day, which is not associated with any religion, has become popular over the years, thus being celebrated by everyone, regardless of creed.
Celebrations and Traditions
The tradition in the United States and Canada is to give thanks for the good times, to bring the family together for a dinner where it is pumpkins, apple and walnut pies, cookies, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and Peru.
In addition, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated with parties, masses, prayers and parades. Macy's store is responsible for the biggest Thanksgiving stop in the world. Known as Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the parade has been held in New York since 1924.
Thanksgiving Day in Brazil
In Brazil, this day was instituted on August 17, 1949, in the government of Eurico Gaspar Dutra (Law n.º 781). Here, Thanksgiving is celebrated in the 4th Thursday of November.
As in the United States and Canada, it is celebrated as a way of giving thanks for the good things of the year that is ending.
In Brazil, this date is not very celebrated and, therefore, it is not a national holiday. Most of the people who celebrate in the country are immigrants from English-speaking countries.
In addition, language schools, in order to promote the culture of English-speaking countries, celebrate the date.
Thanksgiving Day Origin
In the 16th century, in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, a region called New England, the villagers held a party to celebrate that year's food harvest. That's because they have gone through very harsh winters.
It was from 1620, after many bad weather conditions, that the pilgrims who founded the village started to celebrate the good harvest.
In 1621, in order to repeat the gratitude for the harvests, the village governor organizes the “Feast in Autumn” among English and Native American settlers. This event consisted of varied dishes with corn, fish, ducks and turkeys.
Since then, the party has become traditional in the United States and Canada. Other countries that celebrate Thanksgiving are: Grenada (Caribbean), Liberia (Africa), Norfolk Island (Australia) and Netherlands (Europe).
Curiosities about the Thanksgiving
- In the United States, about 50 million turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving, also known as “turkey day” (Day of Peru).
- In 1863, Thanksgiving was elected a festive day by US President Abraham Lincoln, however, only from 1941 onwards it became a national holiday. In Canada (first celebrated in 1879), the current date was set in the year 1957.
- In Canada, as it is located further north, Thanksgiving is celebrated before the United States, due to harvest time.
- Thanksgiving Day demands a lot of tourist traffic, being one of the days of the year with the highest air traffic in the United States.
- Black Friday ("sexta-feira Negra” in English) is an event that takes place after Thanksgiving. On this day, most stores offer great discounts and many people take the opportunity to do their Christmas shopping.
Also read about other commemorative dates:
- Halloween's History
- November commemorative dates
