The first US Thanksgiving celebrated a successful fall harvest and the continued health of 17th-century American pilgrims. Today, Thanksgiving celebrants show gratitude for family and friends—as well as good food. (Pass the turkey and cranberry sauce, please!)
But is Thanksgiving only an American holiday? It depends who you’re asking, and what you mean by “Thanksgiving.” Learn what countries celebrate Thanksgiving or other fall harvest festivals and how they’re different from (or similar to) an American Thanksgiving celebration.
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1. Canada: Canadian Thanksgiving
Like its US counterpart, the first Canadian Thanksgiving brought Canadian pilgrims together to give thanks for their new lives in the New World. This celebration even pre-dates the first American Thanksgiving, as it took place in 1578 after English explorer Martin Frobisher made a successful passage near present-day Newfoundland. (Historians believe that the first American Thanksgiving took place in 1621, over 40 years later.)
Today, Canadian Thanksgiving takes place on the second Monday of October, about six weeks before Americans start carving their turkeys. And speaking of turkey, the Canadian Thanksgiving spread looks similar to their southern neighbors, though traditional poutine (french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy) sometimes makes its way onto the dinner table!
2. United Kingdom: Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving
Both US and Canadian Thanksgiving have roots in the United Kingdom’s annual Harvest Festival. Celebrated on the nearest Sunday to the Harvest Moon, this festival dates back to pagan traditions in Britain—as early as the fourth or fifth century!
Immigrants from Britain brought these traditions to their new lands, including American and Canadian Modern Harvest Festivals featuring a bountiful supper of autumn crops and vegetables, as well as food donations and church services.
3. Netherlands: Dankdag
Did you know that the Dutch played an important role in America’s first Thanksgiving? Before landing in Massachusetts, English immigrants spent several years living in the Netherlands, specifically in the town of Leiden. They brought many of their customs to their new (temporary) home, including the practice of expressing gratitude for a successful fall harvest.
While Thanksgiving isn’t considered a major holiday, Dankdag is still celebrated in Leiden. Citizens enjoy an American-style Thanksgiving dinner after a church service at Pieterskerk. And if they live near Beschuitsteeg, they can explore the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum as a tribute to their long friendship with the pilgrims.
4. Japan: Kinro Kansha no Hi
The Thanksgiving holiday in Japan known as Kinro Kansha no Hi (Labor Thanksgiving Day), takes place on November 23rd each year. But even though it’s close to American Thanksgiving on the calendar, its history dates back much further—over 2,000 years!
Historians date the first Japanese Thanksgiving celebration to the 7th century B.C.E. It began as a harvest festival known as Niiname-sai (Imperial Harvest Ritual) that celebrated the first rice crop of the year.
After World War II, Niiname-sai moved away from its imperialist roots to Kinro Kansha no Hi, a holiday that expresses gratitude toward Japan’s labor force (similar to combining Thanksgiving and Labor Day in America). Today, celebrants enjoy a day off from work or school, write thank-you notes to laborers, and enjoy seasonal dishes.
5. India: Pongal
கவின்In South India, one day of Thanksgiving simply isn’t enough. The Hindu celebration of Pongal is a four-day festival where celebrants give thanks for the gods’ blessings in their lives.
Pongal comes from the Tamil word pongu, meaning “to boil over” or “overflow,” and the traditional call Pongalo Pongal! (“Let it boil over!”) refers to both milk and blessings overflowing.
The days of Pongal, which take place in the middle of January, include:
- Day 1, Bhogi Pongal (Day of Renewal): Celebrants honor Lord Indra, the god of rain, and discard old things to make space for new ones.
- Day 2, Surya Pongal (Day of the Sun): The main celebration day focuses on honoring the Sun God, a bringer of prosperity and abundance, and to boil milk and rice, where celebrants call Pongalo Pongal! as the milk boils over.
- Day 3, Maatu Pongal (Day of the Cattle): Celebrants give thanks for Maatu (cattle) for their contributions in the harvest.
- Day 4, Kaanum Pongal (Day of Enjoyment): This is a chance to relax, enjoy time with loved ones, and share a feast with the community.
6. Brazil: Dia de Ação de Graças
When you hear Feliz Dia de Ação de Graças, you know it’s Thanksgiving in Brazil. When talking about what countries celebrate Thanksgiving, Brazil is the only country on the list in South America.
Brazilian Thanksgiving, known as Dia de Ação de Graças in Portuguese, follows the American tradition of a harvest feast on the fourth Thursday in November. It became a national Brazilian holiday in 1949 as a way to unify the Brazilian people.
Though not widely celebrated in Brazil, Dia de Ação de Graças is catching on each year. A Thanksgiving feast in Brazil includes many American staples, including turkey (known as peru in Portuguese), mashed potatoes (purê de batatas), and apple pie (torta de maçã). A few Brazilian specialties, such as the country’s national dish, feijoada, might make an appearance as well.
7. Germany: Erntedankfest
Travelers planning to visit Germany in the fall should add the phrase Frohes Erntedankfest (“Happy Harvest Thanksgiving festival!”) to their vocabulary! Like Britain and many other European countries, Germany celebrates the first major harvest of the season with a big festival. Erntedankfest doesn’t have an official date, but it typically takes place between early October and late November, sometimes coinciding with Martinstag (St. Martin’s Day).
Other German-speaking countries, such as Austria and Switzerland, also celebrate Erntedankfest to observe the autumn harvest. Erntedankfest traditions include parades, church services, concerts, fireworks, and a harvest feast, where turkey (Truthahn) is a holiday dinner favorite.
8. South Korea: Chuseok
Food, family, and tradition are the focus of Korean Thanksgiving, known as Chuseok (autumn evening). Traced back to ancient Korean celebrations of the harvest, Chuseok is a three-day holiday where South Korean celebrants travel to their ancestral hometowns to prepare and enjoy songpyeon, a traditional rice cake filled with sweet or savory ingredients and steamed on pine needles.
Chuseok typically takes place in mid-September or early October on the Gregorian calendar, but its exact date is the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. If you’re planning a trip to South Korea during this time of year, use the Rosetta Stone App to access live lessons and stories and strengthen your Korean before the holidays.
9. Liberia: Liberian Thanksgiving
Liberians celebrate Thanksgiving on the first Thursday of November each year. It combines American Thanksgiving traditions with religious rituals to thank God for blessings from the year, including food, health, and good weather. Because English is the primary language of Liberia, visitors can greet celebrants with “Happy Thanksgiving!”
Unlike Thanksgiving celebrations in other parts of the world, Liberian Thanksgiving isn’t a harvest festival, as their harvests are often over by November. Liberians may not prepare a traditional meal for Liberian Thanksgiving, or they may serve a feast with both American Thanksgiving meals with traditional African foods like jollof rice (similar to Cajun jambalaya) or fufu (cassava dough served with meat stew).
10. Mexico: Día de Acción de Gracias
If you’re looking for a Thanksgiving feast that encapsulates the entire North American continent, look no further than a Mexican celebration of Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving Day).
With a regional twist on traditional American Thanksgiving dishes, such as apple pie empanadas and turkey enchiladas, many Mexicans embrace the spirit of giving thanks while spending time with family and friends. Because Mexico is so close to the United States, Día de Acción de Gracias usually occurs on the same day as American Thanksgiving.
It’s not widely celebrated throughout Mexico, but as more families travel to and from Mexico during the holiday season, Thanksgiving has become a fond mainstay in many parts of the country.
11. Norfolk Island: Thanksgiving
New Zealanders and Australians don’t typically celebrate Thanksgiving—unless they live on Norfolk Island, a small Australian territory northeast of Sydney. Thanksgiving on Norfolk Island is a holdover from 19th-century American whalers who celebrated the holiday during their stay on the island.
Today, the nearly 2,000 inhabitants of Norfolk Island celebrate the holiday on the last Wednesday in November. After a Thanksgiving Day church service, they enjoy a lunch of American Thanksgiving dishes, banana pilaf, and fish salad with their community. Thanksgiving celebrants often decorate with fall harvest imagery such as corn stalks and pumpkins, even though November is springtime in their part of the world!
12. China: Mid-Autumn Festival
After the Harvest Moon appears in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, it’s time for Zhōngqiū Jié, China’s Mid-Autumn Festival. This holiday takes place on the same day as South Korea’s Chuseok and is also celebrated in Cambodia (where it’s known as Bon Om Touk), Vietnam (Tết Trung Thu), Indonesia (Lantern Festival), and many other countries in Asia. In parts of Japan, the festival is known as Tsukimi.
Lanterns and moonlight are a big focus of the Mid-Autumn festival. Celebrants write wishes on decorative lanterns and float them in the air or display them in their homes. They also make and enjoy mooncakes, which are sweet dough cakes filled with lotus seed paste, red beans, or ice cream. In parts of China and other countries, the Mid-Autumn Festival is marked with feasts, parades, and family celebrations.
@thekwendyhome Mid Autumn Festival is a pretty big deal in Chinese culture and it’s a time when we consume a lotttt of moon cakes
♬ Falling Behind – Laufey! There are so many varieties and combinations out there but I’m sharing the most popular and traditional kind today! The packaging of moon cakes is an art form itself and we gift these to family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc. It’s like a gift exchange but the gift is only different types of moon cakes. And then we sit together after dinner around a pot of tea to serve slivers of these delicacies remarking on aroma, flavour and texture. If you’re anything like my family, you’ll probably end up every ranking moon cake brands and comparing moon cakes while the kids go off to play woth their lanterns. And then after we go for a short walk and crane our necks up to look at the moon. I love this tradition and these celebrations that I get to share with you. It’s truly like sharing part of my childhood.
#midautumnfestival #mooncake #mooncakefestival #moonfestival #chinesecuisine #chineseculture #chineseheritage
13. Ghana: Homowo Festival
In Ghana, Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate food—and to mock hunger! The Homowo Festival comes from the Ga word Homowo, meaning “to hoot at” or ridicule hunger, and it originated from an abundant summer harvest after a historical famine. The festival takes place in late August or early September and has roots in the Jewish tradition of Passover.
A Homowo celebration includes a period of meditation and prayer, traditional dances, beating drums, a day of settling disagreements (known as Ngorwala) and feasts centered around the holy dish of kpokpoi, consisting of fermented corn meal and fish.
14. Rwanda: Umuganura Day
Umuganura Day is a day of unity in Rwanda to celebrate the harvest as a community. The summertime cultural festival honors Rwandan elders by giving them the first fruits of the harvest (Umuganura means “first fruits” in the Kinyarwanda language) and sharing the best crops with those whose harvests did not fare as well.
Colonial powers ended Umuganura in 1925, but it became a public holiday once more in 2011. Rwandans now use the festival to celebrate the country’s independence from colonialism. They also pay homage to their ancestors and give thanks to God for an abundant summer harvest with a feast of sweet potatoes, cassava, pumpkins, and banana beer.
15. Poland: Dożynki
The Polish harvest festival, Dożynki, dates back to the 16th century when landowners shared the bounty of the harvest with the land’s workers. The historical celebration included dancing, feasting, and crafting harvest wreaths to ensure fertility for the next harvest.
Today, the festival still includes feasts and harvest wreaths. Modern Dożynki celebrations incorporate religious elements, including a pilgrimage to Jasna Góra in Częstochowa. Polish celebrants even dress in traditional outfits as they share in the harvest.
How many countries celebrate Thanksgiving?
During their Thanksgiving celebrations, these 16 countries (including the US) give thanks for family, good health, a strong harvest, and countless other blessings. Some Thanksgiving holidays are religious observances, while others are multi-day festivals that bring the community together. But no matter how they celebrate or whether the word “Thanksgiving” is in the name, the spirit of gratitude is there.
Harvest time isn’t the only time to give thanks, however. Other cultures celebrate historical triumphs over adversity, such as the Jewish celebration of Sukkot or the Italian Olivagando festival. No matter where you travel, you’ll find people appreciating their lives—and usually some excellent regional food!
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