Community Chat

[traveler]

Your date makes more sense as a harvest date. US Thanksgiving date was based on Christmas shopping.

[Krimpette]

I think our Thanksgiving date was proclaimed long before Christmas shopping events.  But perhaps your post was tongue-in-cheek!

[beckyb1012]

I believe Pres. Lincoln stated this Thurs. date in November for celebration and there was no shopping involved.

[ROMARY]

Every US Thanksgiving, I am grateful that we have  such a good, friendly, neighborly bordering country. 

(Could have been something different.)

We are blessed that we get along just fine and have a safe border.

(No wars, etc.)

 Happy Thanksgiving, Canada 

[traveler]

Nope. I got the information at thanksgiving.com

[Mominohio]

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@traveler wrote:

Your date makes more sense as a harvest date. US Thanksgiving date was based on Christmas shopping.

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Actually what is the end of harvest and time to celebrate/mark the gratefulness depends on where you live. Even in central Ohio, there is still much to be done in bringing in the crops at this time of year (commercially or personally) and  preparing them for winter. 

So the timing of US Thanksgiving to mark the end of harvest isn't 'off' for many areas of the country. 

And as to Canada's Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving to my great uncle and cousins who moved there many decades ago.

We miss them, but know they love their home there. We are grateful everyday for them and their love.

[tansy]

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

Here’s an explanation aboutretailers wanting more time for Christmas shopping.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/11/21/165655925/how-did-thanksgiving-end-up-on-thursday

[Cakers3]

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@traveler wrote:

Your date makes more sense as a harvest date. US Thanksgiving date was based on Christmas shopping.

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@traveler  ???  I think you are misreading the history of Thanksgiving in the US.

It was never originally established for Christmas shopping since Christmas "shopping" was a non-entity during Washington and Lincoln's time.

Those dates, wavering between the last Thursday and the fourth Thursday was finally settled by Congress last century, in part due to retailers request but the original Thursday was never about Christmas.

[sunshine45]

As an annual celebration of the harvest and its bounty, moreover, Thanksgiving falls under a category of festivals that spans cultures, continents and millennia. In ancient times, the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans feasted and paid tribute to their gods after the fall harvest. Thanksgiving also bears a resemblance to the ancient Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot. Finally, historians have noted that Native Americans had a rich tradition of commemorating the fall harvest with feasting and merrymaking long before Europeans set foot on their shores.

https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving

[meallen616]