The Different Traditions for Expressing Gratitude Worldwide
There’s a common misperception that the American celebration that became Thanksgiving was the first of its kind in the world and that most of the rest of the world has simply joined in our festivities. The reality is very different. Other cultures had traditions for expressing a cross-cultural gratitude long before 1621, the year most historians pinpoint as the first celebration between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Furthermore, while some other traditions may be similar to ours, many are quite different.
Thanksgiving Holidays that Predated the American Holiday
Even though the first gathering is believed to have been in 1621, the day wasn’t acknowledged as a special day until President George Washington called for a national day of thanksgiving and prayer in 1789. Thanksgiving did not become an official American holiday until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared it a regular observance.
Our neighbors to the north celebrated a similar type of holiday more than four decades before the gathering of the Pilgrims and the Native American, when the English navigator Martin Frobisher proclaimed a day of thanks in Nunavut for allowing the English fleet to come safely to the new world. Historical evidence also suggests that many First Nations and Native Americans had annual harvest festivals long before the Europeans arrived, and that those festivals typically involved expressing thanks for a variety of things, from the bounty of the harvest to good weather and good health.
Many of the English settlers who came to Plymouth came there from the Netherlands. What many don’t know is that a large number of those settlers lived in the Dutch city of Leiden before coming to America. Many historians believe that the first Thanksgiving celebration involving Pilgrims took place in Leiden in 1574 after the Dutch broke a Spanish siege.
Other Thanksgiving Traditions around the World
Among the holidays of thanksgiving that don’t look anything like ours are the ones in:
- Japan—The Japanese day of thanksgiving, known as Kinro Kansha no Hi, began as a rice harvest festival thousands of years ago. It’s not a day of feasting, but instead a day when the country pays homage to the benefits and principles of hard work and community involvement. A longstanding tradition has children creating handmade thank you cards for public servants, such as police officers, firefighters and municipal employees.
- Liberia—Though the Thanksgiving holiday in Liberia was inspired by the American holiday, it looks very different. Instead of turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie, the holiday customarily features roasted chicken and mashed cassava, as well as live music and dancing.
- Puerto Rico—Residents of this American territory celebrate Thanksgiving in many of the same ways that people do in the continental United States. When turkey is served, it is commonly stuffed with mashed plantain. It’s more traditional, though, to serve roasted pork with plantains, rice and beans.
