Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is a holiday celebrated primarily in Canada and the United States. While perhaps religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday. Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, but the idea of an annual celebration to thank God for his bounty stretches back through time and around the world. Here are some ways different cultures celebrate Thanksgiving. Maybe you can find some ideas to enrich your own family’s Thanksgiving celebration this year.
United States
Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day, presently celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863. It did not become a federal holiday until 1941. Thanksgiving was historically a religious observation to give thanks to God,[1] and is still celebrated as such by many families, but is now also considered a secular holiday.[
In the United States, certain kinds of food are traditionally served at Thanksgiving meals. Firstly, baked or roasted turkey is usually the featured item on any Thanksgiving feast table (so much so that Thanksgiving is sometimes referred to as “Turkey Day”). Stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, other fall vegetables, and pumpkin pie are commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner. All of these are actually native to the Americas or were introduced as a new food source to the Europeans when they arrived. As an alternative to turkey, many vegetarians or vegans eat tofurky, a meatless turkey made of tofu.
At home, it is a holiday tradition in many families to begin the Thanksgiving dinner by saying grace (a prayer before or after a meal).The custom is portrayed in the photograph “Family Holding Hands and Praying before a Thanksgiving Meal.” Traditionally grace was led by the hostess or host, though in later times it is usual for others to contribute.
During Thanksgiving Day families and friends usually gather for a large meal or dinner. Consequently the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Thanksgiving is a four-day or five-day weekend vacation for schools and colleges. Most business and government workers (78% in 2007) are given Thanksgiving and the day after as paid holidays Thanksgiving Eve, the night before Thanksgiving, is one of the busiest nights of the year for bars and clubs, as many college students and others return to their hometowns to reunite with friends and family
Canada
Thanksgiving Day in Canada dates back to 1578, when explorer Martin Frobisher held a ceremony in Newfoundland to give thanks to God. This celebration is the most similar to the American Thanksgiving, even featuring many of the same foods and hymns. The similarities stem from the American Revolution, when many Americans who remained loyal to England moved to Canada, bringing their American customs with them. However, the harvest season is earlier in Canada, so they celebrate Thanksgiving in October instead of November. It is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season. Although the original act of Parliament references God and the holiday is celebrated in churches, the holiday is also celebrated in a secular manner.

Canadians also celebrate on Monday rather than Thursday. It is the second Monday on october . For this reason,Canadians might eat their Thanksgiving meal on any day of the three-day weekend, though Sunday and Monday are the most common. While Thanksgiving is usually celebrated with a large family meal, it is also often a time for weekend getaways.
China
Although it is a western holiday, Chinese also celebrate thanksgiving nowadays, especially on campus. On that day, we convey our thanks to friends, parents, teachers, etc. through many ways, like short message, e-mail; phone-calls.There is a story about our Chinese express thanks and family reunion.
Chinese families celebrate the end of the harvest season with a big feast featuring roasted pig and mooncakes. It is always in the middle of August. These palm-sized round cakes symbolize family unity and perfection, so the Chinese people also give mooncakes to their friends and relatives as a way of giving thanks. Legend says that during wartime, the Chinese hid secret messages in mooncakes and were able to thwart their enemies
Other countries
As for the thanksgiving is thanks for harvest, there are many countries who express the thanks for good harvest. Let see how the celebrate their “thanksgiving day”.
The ancient Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, Chinese, and Egyptians all held harvest festivals and thanksgiving celebrations. These celebrations continue today in various forms. Jewish families celebrate with a seven-day autumn harvest festival called Sukkoth. Sukkoth commemorates how God cared for Moses and the Hebrew people as they wandered in the desert for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. During Sukkoth, families build small temporary huts out of branches and foliage. Inside the huts, they hang fruits and vegetables such as apples, grapes, corn, and pomegranates. A special ceremony is held each day to remember their Hebrew ancestors and to thank God for the harvest. Families eat in the hut at night and sometimes sleep there as well.
Ghana, Nigeria, and Korea also celebrate the harvest is August. Ghana and Nigeria have a Yam Festival because yams are the most common food in many African countries and are the first crop to be harvested. The Korean festival is called Chusok. Families get together and eat special rice cakes made of rice, beans, sesame seeds, and chestnuts. They also visit the tombs of their ancestors and dance traditional dances.
Southern India celebrates the harvest at a festival called Pongal in January of each year. Named after a sweet rice dish, Pongal features a community feast during which neighbors get together to share their crops and give thanks to everyone who contributed to a successful harvest.
Other harvest festivals around the world include the German Erntedankfest celebrated in September each year and a Brazilian public day of thanksgiving and prayer celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.