The practice of giving thanks is ancient in origin and common to many cultures. It is typically tied to the harvest and thought to be religious in origin.

In modern times Thanksgiving is recognized most specifically in the United States and Canada. Both countries have declared national holidays in observance of Thanksgiving.

In America Thanksgiving had its beginnings in 1621 as settlers at Plymouth Plantation held a feast in celebration of a successful harvest season. This event is known as the “First Thanksgiving” and is celebrated in history books and cultural productions alike. These pioneering ancestors on the American continent had much to be grateful for: after arriving with meager food stores it was only with the aid of Native Americans that they learned to grow foods, fish and hunt in ways that would allow the colony to survive.

The tradition of Thanksgiving carried over during the Revolutionary War when the Continental Congress declared a national day of Thanksgiving for the first time in 1777. Later, President George Washington declared the first national day of Thanksgiving in 1789, a first for the new United States of America. Similar declarations were made by John Adams in 1798 and 1799 and by several states for generations thereafter.
In 1863, following a series of articles by Sarah Josepha Hale, President Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving on the final Thursday in November, starting a tradition that continues to this day.

Abraham Lincoln’s successors as president followed his example of annually declaring the final Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving. But in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke with this tradition. November had five Thursdays that year (instead of the usual four), and Roosevelt declared the fourth Thursday as Thanksgiving rather than the fifth one. In 1940 and 1941, years in which November had four Thursdays, he declared the third one as Thanksgiving. Roosevelt thought an earlier Thanksgiving would give merchants a longer period to sell goods before Christmas.

In Canada the tradition of Thanksgiving, like America, was born of European immigrants. The first Thanksgiving there had nothing to do with the harvest, however. It was held in observance of surviving an exploring venture by Martin Frobisher, who overcame great trauma while searching for the Northwest Passage 1578. Though occasional observances of Thanksgiving are noted in Canadian history it too did not come into annual practice until 1879, after American citizens loyal to the British crown brought the American tradition of Thanksgiving to Canada, where it was adopted into law.

Over generations of time Thanksgiving observance has evolved to include iconic variables of parades, football and certain foods – as well as a kick-off, of sorts, of the Christmas holiday season.