Definition of thanksgiving day in English English dictionary
A holiday, originally to give thanks to God for the harvest, celebrated annually on the second Monday of October
A holiday, originally to give thanks to God and to commemorate the feast held by the Pilgrim colonists, celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of November
U.S. holiday. It originated in the autumn of 1621 when Plymouth governor William Bradford invited neighbouring Indians to join the Pilgrims for a three-day festival of recreation and feasting in gratitude for the bounty of the season, which had been partly enabled by the Indians' advice. Neither the standard Thanksgiving meal of turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie nor the family orientation of the day reflects the Plymouth event, however. Proclaimed a national holiday in 1863, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November (though it was moved back one week in 1939-41 to extend the Christmas shopping season). Canada adopted Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1879; since 1957 it has been celebrated on the second Monday in October
national holiday of feasting and giving thanks for divine blessings or goodness (celebrated on the last Thursday in November in the United States and on the second Monday in October in Canada)