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Thanksgiving day celebration essay

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated with lot of fervor and merry-making in America. Celebrated on the fourth Thursday in the month of November every year, it is a time for communal thanksgiving, feeling gratitude, lavish feasts. It is a time to remember the pilgrims. The original pilgrims celebrated the autumn harvest with a feast of thanks. The feast popularly known as the ‘ First Thanksgiving Day Feast’ was held as a gesture of thanks to almighty God .

It was celebrated in the year 1621. After the United States gained independence, Congress recommended one yearly day of thanksgiving for the whole nation to celebrate. Tribute to Native Indians Until recently, people believed Thanksgiving Day to be a celebration of pilgrims, offering food to Indians. It however is a day marked as a gesture of thanks and gratitude to Lord almighty for his blessings. It is also a celebration to mark the respect towards Indians for teaching the pilgrims how to cook. Pilgrims could not have survived without the help of the native Indians.

Time for celebrating Traditional HarvestThanksgiving Day is a time of festivity, family meals and reunions in America. Carved turkeys, Pumpkin Pie, Corns, Cranberry Sauce are the traditional dishes adorning the dinner tables in almost every house. A time for feasting, Thanksgiving Day epitomizes the holiday mood of people. Tradition of Gifting Thanksgiving is a time for gifting your family and friends. The day is a time to show your gratitude and respect to your elders, friends, your siblings and also your colleagues.

Popular gifts include thanksgiving flowers, jewellery, baked cookie hampers, chocolate gift baskets, candy-wreaths, wine etc. Black Friday and Festive Spirit Thanksgiving day is the official beginning of the Christmas season. USA witnesses maximum sales volume on the very nest day. The following Friday after thanksgiving is famously known as ‘ Black Friday’. This is so, because of the standard accounting practice of writing profits in black.

The ongoing festive spirit, shopping spree, helps the shopkeepers to register maximum sales and profits. The entire atmosphere during the time is euphoric, people get in a holiday mood. Families visit restaurants, amusement parks, gift each other, decorate their house etc. Thanksgiving Day Celebration in Canada | | |[pic] | People of Canada celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in the month of October every year. It is celebrated to thank the Lord Almighty for a bountiful harvest. America however celebrates thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year.

The reason behind the difference is geographical; autumn season starts earlier in Canada than in America. History of First Canadian ThanksgivingThe first Canadian thanksgiving was celebrated on 15th April 1872 to thank the recovery of King Edward VII from serious illness. The next thanksgiving was celebrated after a few years in 1879 on a Thursday. Canada later, had a turbulent time deciding the day of national Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was celebrated on a Thursday in November between 1879 and 1898. It was later celebrated on a Thursday in October between 1899 and 1904. Thereafter, it was celebrated on a Monday in the month of October. This was between the period of 1908-1921.

In later years, thanksgiving came to be celebrated on ‘ Armistice Day’. This was however, amended in 1931. Finally on January 31, 1957, Parliament announced the second Monday in the month of October as the official ‘ Thanksgiving Day’. It was declared as “ a day of general Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed. ” Canadian Thanksgiving Celebration The thanksgiving celebrations include parades, customary ‘ family feast’ and ‘ turkey’.

It is a time for sharing, loving and family reunions. The central idea behind the celebration is to be thankful for the past harvest and praying for the coming year. Thanksgiving Day Celebration in India | |[pic] | Thanksgiving is celebrated world over with equal fervor and euphoria. It conveys the universal feeling of being thankful to Lord Almighty for his continuous grace. India is a multi-lingual, multi-cultural and a secular country; also popular for its spirituality, God loving and God fearing people. It is known for its ‘ Unity in Diversity’.

With the spread of westen culture, Thanksgiving is celebrated in quite a few parts of India, the major festivity is however, observed by Christians in the state of Goa. Thanksgiving Day Celebration in Goa Thanksgiving is primarily celebrated in the state of Goa, with a different name. Thanksgiving is popularly known as ‘ Ladin’ or ‘ Ladainha’ in India. ‘ Ladin’ literally means a litany to the Virgin Mary. During the Thanksgiving ritual, people thank God for all the material and spiritual benefits. The Thanksgiving function is sponsored by a different person every year who either seeks benefits or has been lucky enough to have God’s special grace.

Christians start preparing for Thanksgiving celebrations by purchasing wheat and gram, candles, wine and colored tinsel paper. A temporary platform/altar is constructed which is decorated with flowers, vines and creepers. Celebrations also include singing of hymns and prayers. The village local violinist/choirmaster conducts the entire show of singing of litany. Religious Feast of Thanksgiving in Goa Another celebration associated with the feeling of Thanksgiving, is the popular religious feast of conception of Mother Mary.

It is a time for farmers to cut the first harvest of milk-filed corn from the rice field and offer it to God. This is done to seek God’s blessing for a good harvest in the coming season. Though the date of celebrations varies in different parts of Goa, but generally it is celebrated on the 15th of August every year. Thanksgiving Day Around the World | | |[pic] | Thanksgiving is essentially a harvest related festival.

It celebratescommunal harmony. Though it is said to have been originated in America, a number of other countries celebrate harvest related festivals. They are observed with different names and in different seasons. Harvest related festivals, all the over the world are characterized with lot of fun and merrymaking. Each region has its unique customs and traditions to jubilate the occasion.

Canada celebrates thanksgiving on the second Monday in the month of October. India also has a number of harvest related festivals in different regions. Popular regional festivals are Pongal, Baisakhi, Lohri, Onam etc. Though the underlying principle behind each of them is same, every festival is exclusive and different from the other. Other Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, Korea celebrate the festival on different dates.

Each festival has a folklore attached to it. Harmony, peace, feeling gratitude is the underlying theme of the celebration all over.

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