Thanksgiving Traditions Around the World -- 40 Questions
Harvest festivals and gratitude celebrations exist in virtually every culture. This page has 40 questions about Thanksgiving-like traditions in Canada, Germany, Korea, Japan, Liberia, and beyond.
Thanksgiving is not just an American holiday. From Canada's October celebration to Korea's Chuseok, from Germany's Erntedankfest to Japan's Kinro Kansha no Hi, cultures worldwide have traditions of harvest gratitude. These 40 questions explore global celebrations.
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Action de grâce. The French name reflects the holiday's religious origins.
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The second Monday in October. Canadian Thanksgiving traces to 1578 and was fixed in 1957.
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Erntedankfest. Celebrated in October, it features church services and elaborate fruit displays.
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Chuseok. Families gather, eat songpyeon rice cakes, and honor ancestors.
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Kinro Kansha no Hi. Celebrated November 23, it honors workers and production.
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Sukkot. A week-long holiday in September or October commemorating the harvest and desert wandering.
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A harvest moon celebration with mooncakes. It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture.
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The Yam Festival or Homowo. Many West African cultures celebrate yam harvests with ceremonies and feasting.
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A holiday on the first Thursday of November brought by freed American slaves. Liberia was founded in the 1820s by the American Colonization Society.
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Celebrated October 25 to commemorate the 1983 U.S. intervention. It is unrelated to harvest traditions.
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The Pilgrims lived in Leiden before sailing to America. The city holds an annual service at Pieterskerk.
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Not official — some churches and American communities hold dinners. Brazil does not have a national Thanksgiving holiday.
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Not Thanksgiving — Australia has no equivalent holiday. Some churches hold harvest celebrations in autumn.
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A church tradition, not a public holiday. British churches decorate with produce and hold thanksgiving services.
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A major three-day harvest festival in September or October. Koreans visit ancestral hometowns and eat songpyeon.
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A moon-viewing festival in September. People eat tsukimi dango and admire the harvest moon.
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A four-day Tamil harvest festival in January. It honors the sun god and celebrates the rice harvest.
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A winter harvest festival in January. Bonfires, singing, and eating rewri and peanuts mark the celebration.
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A grape harvest festival in Mendoza. It features parades, wine tastings, and the blessing of the harvest.
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An Inca festival of the sun. Celebrated June 24, it honors the winter solstice and the sun god Inti.
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A beer festival starting in September. While not a harvest festival per se, it coincides with the harvest season.
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An Italian harvest festival in mountain villages. It celebrates the harvest with processions and local food.
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A traditional harvest festival. It involves wreath-making, processions, and a celebratory feast.
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A spring festival of colors. While not a harvest festival, it celebrates the triumph of good over evil and seasonal change.
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A harvest festival and Sikh New Year in April. It celebrates the wheat harvest and the founding of the Khalsa.
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The autumn equinox celebration. Modern Pagans observe Mabon as a harvest thanksgiving.
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A Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. It is named after the god Lugh.
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A Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. It is the precursor to Halloween.
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A Zoroastrian and Persian festival of autumn. It celebrates friendship, kindness, and love.
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Unrelated to harvest — it celebrates the Nobel Prize on December 10. Sweden has no Thanksgiving equivalent.
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A harvest festival celebrated by the Dayak people in Sarawak. It marks the end of the rice harvest.
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A harvest festival of the Kadazan-Dusun people. It includes the Unduk Ngadau beauty pageant.
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A celebration of Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death. It is not a harvest festival but a major Buddhist holiday.
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A Buddhist festival honoring ancestors in July or August. Families clean graves and perform dances.
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The Vietnamese Lunar New Year. While not a harvest festival, it is the most important celebration in Vietnam.
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The Thai New Year water festival in April. It involves water fights, temple visits, and family gatherings.
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The Persian New Year on the spring equinox. It is a 3,000-year-old celebration of renewal.
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The Berber New Year in January. It marks the agrarian calendar and the arrival of the new agricultural cycle.
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The Scottish New Year's Eve celebration. It involves first-footing, fire festivals, and singing 'Auld Lang Syne.'
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December 26, a day for giving to the poor and shopping. It originated as a day when servants received Christmas boxes.
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Gratitude for food, community gathering, and recognition of seasonal cycles. Human societies worldwide have always celebrated harvests.
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