Thanksgiving Celebrations from Around the World

Although many American's think of Thanksgiving as their holiday there are other places in the world that celebrates Thanksgiving - it is a celebration focusing on thankfulness for the harvest.

Canada's Thanksgiving is the 2nd Monday in October in celebration of the harvest. Like the Americans they have a traditional feast, Turkey with all the trimmings.

In Korea Thanksgiving is a celebration during the harvest season. It is called Chusok (meaning great day in the middle of August) and is celebrated in August. The celebration is a time of thanks to their ancestors for providing rice and fruits, it starts the night before Chusok and ends the day after.

China also celebrates the end of the harvest in August, it's called The August Moon Festival or the Woman's Festival. According to legend the moon symbolizes beauty and elegance and it is the biggest and brightest on this day. Moon cakes (small palm size cake with egg yolk centers) and folktales about a moon maiden are popular traditions on this day. Make a wish and the Lady on the Moon just might grant it.

In Vietnam, Tt-Trung-Thu or the Children's Festival is also celebrated in August. Vietnamese parents work so hard preparing for the harvest that family time has been ignored. This day parents show their love to their children. There is a traditional lantern procession that the children participate in at dawn. The lanterns represent brightness and the procession represents success at school. Unicorn dancers, moon cakes and moon lady folklore stories are part of the traditional celebration.

Succoth is a 7-day Jewish Harvest Celebration usually held in September and October. This is both a religious and historical holiday. During a trip to Canaan (Israel) Hebrews lived in Temporary shelters, these living spaces are called succah. They lived, worshiped and shared meals. During Succoth farmers give thanks to God for their crops. Today they celebrate by building the traditional succah. and decorating it with olive and other tree branches. Three sides of the succah are covered with blue and gold fabric. Families gather inside to eat and celebrate and Thank God for the Harvest.

In Africa, The Kwanzaa (first fruits) a harvest related celebration starts on December 26 and lasts for 7 days. Family, community and culture are what Kwanzaa is all about. This is a 7-day celebration based on the values of African culture: unity, self-determination collective work, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

Pongal is a 3-day harvest festival celebrated in South India beginning January 14. Each day represents a day of thankfulness. The first day is in honor of the rain gods for providing rain for the harvest. The second day, pongal is offered to the sun and on the third day, the family's cattle are honored. They are cleaned and decorated with flowers, bells, and colored powder. They are honoring the cattle's hard work in the fields. Although activities vary, most communities get together for a feast with all the villagers attending.

Thanksgiving seems to be a celebration that centers on family, friends, eating and tradition no matter where the location is.

In my research for this piece I stumbled upon this web-site, http://members.aol.com/calebj/mourt.html - it has a copy of a letter from Edward Winslow, one of the first colonists dated 1621 and excerpts of a book he wrote. It is a historical journal of some of the things that took place in 1620. Very informative and interesting reading.

Learn more about this author, Debbie Lang