One of the important festivals of Christianity is Thanksgiving Day. Primarily celebrated in United States and Canada, Thanksgiving Day is actually a harvest festival. It is a traditional festival in vogue since centuries. People of these two countries take this opportunity to express their gratitude and give thanks for the harvest. There is no concrete evidence of origin of this festival. Different school of thoughts have their own versions about its origin. However, many of them agree on the date of earliest Thanksgiving celebration that was held on September 8, 1565 in what is now known as Saint Augustine, Florida. The Plymouth Plantation is credited with hosting the traditional "first Thanksgiving" in way back in 1921.
In Canadian context, first Thanksgiving was supposed to be held in 1578 by explorer Martin Frobisher. He organized the festival while he was trying to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean. Date wise, in Canada, second Monday of October hosts this festival whereas Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. It is usually held over the course of the weekend amidst the gathering of relatives and friends.
During earlier days, this festival was celebrated more as a means to religious observance to give thanks to God for a common purpose. Every significant period in American history is marked with Thanksgiving mass. Whether it’s 1777, 1789, 1896 or 1975, some or other reference to Thanksgiving has been provided by the historians. Several religious and spiritual events are organized throughout the country.
Families herald the arrival of occasion by saying grace which is basically a prayer before the meal. Many families prefer to go on holidays with relatives and friends to celebrate the occasion. Usually, Thanksgiving is a four or five days holiday period for American families. This is also one of the busiest travelling periods in USA.
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