Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving - A traditional celebration to mark an auspicious event

Religious celebrations of gratitude took place among many settlers in the Americas in the 1600. In the United States, the traditional celebration of Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November is associated with the pilgrim settlers of the Plymouth colony in present day Massachusetts. The most common account of the first Thanksgiving links the celebration to 1621, when the Pilgrims joined with indigenous people to give thanks for a particularly good harvest after a difficult year within the settlement. Several other settlements in the Americas around this time also have claims for celebrating early Thanksgiving.   

The idea of the Thanksgiving event had its origins in England during the Protestant Reformation, when reformers were anxious to replace Catholic public holidays with feast days of their own. A tradition began of celebrating fortuitous events with a special thanksgiving meal; conversely, adverse events were marked by a day of fasting. It was hoped that giving thanks to God might bring further good fortune, while fasting might prevent additional disasters.

Even though several of the symbols and traditions of Thanksgiving are taken from the story of the Pilgrims at the Plymouth colony, the holiday is now a celebration of a spirit of gratefulness rather than a commemoration of a particular day or event. As a religious celebration, Thanksgiving in the United States is also celebrated with a secular appreciation of the work ethic and perseverance of the early early U.S. colonists.