So when is Thanksgiving in 2021, and how is it different from the first holiday?
First of all, Bradford may not regard Thanksgiving in 2021 as the same holiday he and his pilgrims celebrate. Modern holidays are usually gatherings of relatives at grand conferences. It is immersed in the tradition of Thanksgiving and even gave birth to Friendsgiving, a branch of the holiday celebrated with friends.
If you’re planning Thanksgiving in 2021, it’s time to start preparing for the biggest party ever. Take the family for Thanksgiving crafts for the kids, then spice up the Thanksgiving decorations and Thanksgiving table decor. When Turkey Day comes, prepare these fun Thanksgiving quotes and share them with your guests at the table.
This year, Thanksgiving Day is November 25, 2021. Unlike most major holidays, which are celebrated on a specific date each year, Thanksgiving is scheduled on a particular day of the week: the fourth Thursday in November.
When was Thanksgiving a national holiday?
Thanksgiving history is the history of America itself. It all started with the pilgrims, even before the United States became a country.
The “First Thanksgiving Day” was part of the decisive harvest festival held in the fall of 1621 in what is now Massachusetts. But this is a far cry from today’s fanfare: Of course, there is no backyard football, but it could also be a pumpkin pie or a pie. It wasn’t until the early 1800s that the magazine editor Sarah Joseph Hale discovered and published Bradford’s diary that the incident became known.
Hale was so fascinated by the story of that first Thanksgiving that she lobbied five different US presidents to make it a federal holiday. In 1863, Hale fulfilled his wish, and President Abraham Lincoln finally declared Thanksgiving as an official holiday in the United States, placing it on the calendar for the last Thursday of November. He hoped the new vacation would help reunite a country torn apart by civil war.
Why is Thanksgiving Day the fourth Thursday in November?
For nearly a century, Thanksgiving has been the last Thursday in November. In most years, this means that Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday, but sometimes November is the fifth Thursday.
As you probably guessed, this isn’t very clear. After all, there was no Google asking, “When is Thanksgiving?” Thus, in December 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to move Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday in November. Here’s a fun Thanksgiving fact to share with the dinner guests: Roosevelt didn’t change the party date just for consistency, although that was undoubtedly a factor.
He also argued that the change extended the holiday season slightly, which was good for the economy. It looks like he was right, and these days the economic explanation makes even more sense. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is America’s biggest shopping day as we prepare for Christmas, Hanukkah, and the winter holidays for gifts. It’s such a big shopping season that some shops open on Thanksgiving, and restaurants open on Thanksgiving.
Do other countries have Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving celebrates the alliance between some early settlers and Native Americans, making it a typically American holiday. Thanksgiving Day was born in the United States and is also the most celebrated holiday, but many countries in the world have harvest celebrations, and the focus is to determine the reasons for gratitude. Canada, Brazil, Grenada, Saint Lucia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Rwanda, Liberia, and parts of Australia celebrate Thanksgiving today in the fall.
There are many different stories about the origins of Thanksgiving, celebration dates, and traditions associated with each culture.
When will our northern neighbors have Thanksgiving in 2021?
Each year they celebrate their version of the holiday on the second Monday in October. Canada claims this is the first Thanksgiving meal that Sir Martin Frobisher and his crew ate after they safely sailed into the Canadian territory of Nunavut in 1578, long before the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. It’s not quite the same event in the United States, but Canadians also celebrate with family reunions, hearty dinners, parades (although not as big as Macy’s Thanksgiving), and watching football games.
From 1901 to 1935, the Philippines was a colony of the United States and therefore accumulated many American traditions, including the traditional Thanksgiving celebration in the United States. When the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established in 1935. President Manuel Quezon continued to declare Thanksgiving in the United States as a national holiday until the mid-1980s. It is no longer a legal holiday. But many Filipinos continue to celebrate it on the same day as the United States or September 21. In 1949, Brazilian President Gaspard Doutra declared Dia de Acao de Gracias (National Thanksgiving Day) after the ambassador to the United States told him about the celebrations in the United States. It is celebrated on the same day as the American holiday, but to a much lesser degree.
Bottomline
Brazilian clerics attend special church services to express gratitude and offer prayers on Thanksgiving, while others celebrate carnival and hearty American-style meals. Umuganura, the harvest festival in Rwanda, is celebrated on August 1. This has nothing to do with holidays in the United States but instead celebrates the country’s rich cultural heritage, family union, and economic achievement. Traditionally, they bring the first fruits of the harvest to the elders and ask for the blessing of their ancestors for the harvest. Now that you’ve read Thanksgiving check out the best Black Friday deals you can’t miss this year.
