Continuing the discussion begun here: Graduating from Hogwarts - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board
Does your country celebrate Thanksgiving? To what extent was it inspired by the U.S. holiday, or has its observance been more recently shaped by U.S. customs, if at all?
UK, no, we don’t. Church goers and school children usually celebrateHarvest Festival, where food gifts are given to the old and the infirm and the church is decorated, but I suspect that’s a hangover from pagan times.
Didn’t I read somewhere that the US Thanksgiving has its roots in Harvest Festival?
Since the OP is looking for personal responses, this is better suited to IMHO than GQ.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
You know what American Thanksgivings lack? Monkeys.
It doesn’t have its roots in harvest festivals; it is a harvest festival. It doesn’t always come right at harvest time, but that’s just because different parts of the country have very different growing seasons.
The Perfect Master speaks: Is it true Thanksgiving was invented by the editor of Harper’s Bazaar? - The Straight Dope
Here’s a related thread.
Thanksgiving is celebrated in Norfolk Island as a result of historical links with American whalers. It occurs on the last Wednesday in November (so 30 November this year).
As for the rest of Australia, its celebration is restricted to American ex-pats.
Canada celebrates a Thanksgiving holiday 45 days before the US date (same day as US Columbus day, in fact), but it resembles the US holiday a lot. Turkeys take cover and all that. It may be a bit early for pumpkin pie, though. But pretty clearly based on the US holiday (even if, as Cat W states, the Canadian day started earlier).
Just for the record, US Thanksgiving wasn’t always the fourth Thursday in November. My father claimed it was the last Thursday and, one year, Roosevelt moved it up a week in order to lengthen the Christmas shopping season and maybe help the economy. In Canada, there is no natural start to the shopping season although a lot of it starts after Halloween.
In Spain we know about it from American media, but thankfully nobody is trying to push it; Halloween, which had in recent years been pushed heavily, has already gotten a backlash from people tired of being told that taking your kid to visit grandpa’s grave on All Saints’ or Difuntos (November 2nd) can traumatize her while letting her watch Friday the 13th InsertNumberHere on the eve of All Saints’ is your parental duty.
It’s not like we’re lacking in our own brand of harvest festivals, no need to import.
