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Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks to God for the harvest and express gratitude to others for our many blessings. While historically religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.

The "First" Thanksgiving?

The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. The traditional "first Thanksgiving" is the celebration that occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621. The Plymouth celebration occurred early in the history of what would become one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. However, there was another, more modest Thanksgiving at Berkeley Plantation, Virginia on the banks of the James River in 1619. The celebration became an important part of the American myth by the 1800s. This Thanksgiving, modeled after celebrations that were commonplace in contemporary Europe, is generally regarded as America's first. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends.

Brazil

In Brazil, President Gaspar Dutra instituted the National Day of Thanksgiving on August 17, 1949 by way of Law 781 on the suggestion of Ambassador Joaquim Nabuco, who had been impressed by the Thanksgiving Day celebrations he witnessed at St. Patrick's Cathedral while serving as Brazilian ambassador to the United States. In 1966, Law 5110 determined that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

Canada

Main article: Thanksgiving (Canada)

United States

Main article: Thanksgiving (United States)

Grenada

In Grenada there is a national holiday of Thanksgiving Day on 25 October . It is unrelated to holidays in Canada and the United States even though it bears the same name and occurs around the same time. It marks the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of the island in 1983 in response to the deposition and execution of Grenadan Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.

Netherlands

A Thanksgiving Day service is held in Hooglandse Kerk to commemorate the hospitality the Pilgrims received in Leiden on their way to the New World.

References

1. ^ "Thanksgiving Day". Encyclopædia Britannica . http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/590003/Thanksgiving-Day . Retrieved 2009-11-03 .  
2. ^ Grenada Board of Tourism official website
3. ^ "Dutch town". The World (radio program) . http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/22856&answer=true . Retrieved 2008-11-28 . "The Pilgrims arrived in Leiden in 1609, after fleeing religious persecution in England. Leiden welcomed them because it needed immigrants to help rebuild its textile industry, which had been devastated by a long revolt against Spain. Here, the Pilgrims were allowed to worship as they wanted, and they even published their arguments calling for the separation of church and state. Jeremy Bangs directs the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum. He says the Pilgrims quickly adopted several Dutch customs, like civil marriage and Thanksgiving."