Thanksgiving Around the World

Every year on the last Thursday of November, turkeys in the United States run for cover, as
Americans across the world celebrate one of their most beloved family holidays. Thanksgiving has a rich history dating back to the time when the English pilgrims reached America, and were warmly greeted by the Native Americans.  The story of Thanksgiving recounts the story of the Pilgrims and their community feast of the autumn harvest at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1621. Harvest fest celebrations are not honored solely by Americans, but also throughout the world, in many cases referred to by the local name and generally celebrated during the harvest period.

Canada celebrates Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October. Instead of eating turkey,  their feast includes ham or lamb, and traditionally some have La Tourtiere, a pastry pie filled with potatoes, rabbit and partridge or pheasant.  The holiday is celebrated as a gesture of thanks for a bountiful harvest.

In Barbados, the traditional harvest festival is called Crop Over. It has origins dating back to the colonial period, where singing, dancing and festival carts were decorated with flowers signifying prosperity for the plantation owners. In return, the plantation owners would provide a feast for the plantation workers, honoring their loyalty and dedication to the crop.

In China, the August Moon Festival or the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most celebrated Chinese harvest festivals.  The festival is held in September or early October, close to the autumnal equinox. This festival ends with a big feast among family and loved ones. Friends and relatives send Moon cakes to one other as a way of showing gratitude. The Autumn Moon festival has much in common with the American and Canadian Thanksgiving Festival.

India has several different harvest festival celebrations, and they are typically celebrated in the Spring. In the Northern Indian Harvest festivals, during late February or early March, people harvest wheat. This is also the time for Holi, which is a Hindu Harvest festival.  In Eastern India, the primary crop harvested is rice. Springtime is the season of love, and the love story of Krishna and Radha.  In Southern India, Onam is one of the most popular harvest festivals of Kerala. It is a time for everyone to reap the benefits of a good harvest after a year of hard work and labor, and a time for communal thanksgiving. 

Korea celebrates ChuSuk, as their harvest festival. The festival is a time for feasting and happiness, and paying respects to elders. Families visit their ancestral home towns, offering newly harvested foods, and memorial services dedicated to ancestors and elders. As with many of the other festivals, a special meal to celebrate, honor and offer thanks is prepared and shared among family, loved ones and friends.

In Malaysia, the Kadazan is the harvest festival, Tadau ka’amatan, celebrated in the month of May to thank the Rice God. The people believe that there is no life without Rice.

In Scotland the Harvest Festival usually takes place in September, celebrating the harvest festival known as “Lammas".  A loaf of bread is made from the first wheat cut, which is then taken to Church so that the bread may be eaten for mass.  

In Zambia, the Harvest Festival is one of the popular and entertaining festivals celebrated in the country in February. The festival is the celebration of the Ngoni people, believed to have inhabited Zambia since 1835. The Harvest Festival is celebrated by local dance and music, and offerings.

In the UK, the Harvest Festival, in the month of September, is one of the oldest festivals beginning in churches in 1843, when Robert Hawker invited local parishioners to a special thanksgiving service at a church in Cornwall. The ancient ceremony, “crying of the neck", takes place in Cornwall.  It was believed that the success of crops determined the success or failure of the people. During the festival, the entire community is invited for a dinner. 

Japanese Thanksgiving, the New Autumn Harvest Celebration is called Niinamesai, which literally means “the festival of new crops”.  Niinamesai is one of the most important rituals of the country; the Emperor makes the season’s first offering to the gods giving thanks for the fruitful harvest on behalf of the Japanese people.

Thailand’s Loy Krathong is an ancient Thai festival to honor and thank the water spirits for the water provided during the growing season. It is celebrated November, on the first full moon after the rice harvest.  People across Thailand flock to the rivers and canals with their Krathong floats to celebrate the Loy Krathong Festival, or the 'festival of light.'  

These are just a few of the world’s Harvest Thanksgiving days celebrated with cultural differences around the world; all have the common theme of offering food, warmth and celebration as a gesture of gratitude for the fruits of Mother Earth.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

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