Fundoo Times
American Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

When is Thanksgiving?

Celebrated in some other countries, Thanksgiving is a more prominent festival of the United States of America and Canada. A day to convey and express your thankfulness and gratitude to the Lord for granting and blessing the lands with a good harvest, this occasion is marked with much pomp and glory throughout American and Canada. The harvest festival, commemorated as Thanksgiving in these two countries, is observed in several other nations across the globe, at different times and with different names. Nevertheless, the ecstasy and enthusiasm with which each harvest festival is celebrated remains the same throughout. Read on further to know when Thanksgiving is celebrated in America. Also know the Canadian Thanksgiving dates in the lines below.

This tradition of celebrating the harvest season originated in Europe and was brought to America by the Europeans when they sailed across the Atlantic to enter the American soil. Even though the Europeans are responsible for introduced the festival to America, but the Native Americans, too, have a major role in contributing to its origin, as they also celebrated a harvest festival around the same time. The attempts of the then American President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 to proclaim Thanksgiving Day, as a national holiday, were finally executed in 1941, by President Franklin Roosevelt. Since then, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in the month of November, every year. The Americans honor the festival in remembrance of the pilgrims and to give thanks to God. While in Canada, Thanksgiving Day is observed on the second Monday in the month of October, as the harvest takes place a little earlier as you move farther to the north.

On the day of Thanksgiving, it is imperative for families and friends to gather at one place and splurge on large and luxurious meals. Roasted turkey, stuffing, different types of potatoes, seasonal vegetables, gravy and maize, and cranberry sauce constitute the most important meals on this special holiday. For the desserts, people get to feast on delicious and yummy pumpkin pies. However, most of these foods are native to America and were not available in Europe, when the English colonists came to America. Besides the fine and sumptuous meals, Thanksgiving Day parades, held in many cities and towns, forms one of the most significant traditions. Some of these parades are a mark of the beginning of the holy Christmas season. The four-day weekend allows people to move out for vacations and holiday retreats to refresh and rejuvenate them.

American Thanksgiving Dates
2015 - Thursday, November 26
2016 - Thursday, November 24

Canadian Thanksgiving Dates
2015 - Monday, October 12
2016 - Monday, October 10