Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the United States and Canada, celebrating the harvest and blessings of the past year. In the United States, it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November; however, in Canada, they celebrate it on the second Monday of October. Canadian Thanksgiving and Columbus Day in the States happen to always fall on the same day. The difference in dates is due to Canada being further north, so their harvest season begins earlier than in the US. Traditional foods including turkey or ham, stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, gravy, and pumpkin pie are served at US and Canadian Thanksgiving. Another difference between the celebrations is the following day, known in the US as Black Friday. Some southern Canadians would travel south to get the US discounts. In an attempt to keep customers there, some Canadian retailers began to offer deals on Black Friday. Although Thanksgiving is not celebrated by everyone in these countries due to culture and religion, one tradition that both countries cherish is a Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

  On the other hand, countries like Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and Germany all have their own form of Thanksgiving celebrated on different dates. For example, Rwanda celebrates “Umuganura Day”, marking the harvest, which falls on the first Friday of August. Germany celebrates its harvest by having a Christian festival called “Erntedankfest”, which is celebrated on the first Sunday in October. The festivities of this celebration include music, dancing, food, and parades. Although not all countries celebrate Thanksgiving like Americans do, most countries have their own traditions and ways to give thanks and begin harvest. 

   On Thanksgiving, the majority of Americans value traditions the most. People love to keep the holiday traditions around wherever they happen to be on Thanksgiving. Millbrook French teacher Mademoiselle Demeny, who grew up speaking French and had family in Belgium, says, “My mom is American, so we would still celebrate it in Europe but with chicken. We would watch the parade while in Belgium.” This is a tradition her family wanted to keep celebrating in Europe. Everyone can have traditions including the foods they have, how they cook, watching the parade, watching a Christmas movie, or Black Friday shopping.