TOP
Posted by Unknown at 7:52 AM

Thanksgiving Celebrations Around the World


In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621 to celebrate a successful harvest in the new land. The celebration was based on harvest traditions that the colonists brought with them from England.

In Canada, Thanksgiving is a three-day weekend and celebrated mainly on the second Monday in October. It is often celebrated with family. It is also a time for weekend getaways for couples to participate in various outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing and hunting.

In Israel, the harvest festival is called Succoth or Sukkot. The celebration lasts for seven days. Succoth is a Biblical pilgrimage festival that occurs in autumn on the 15th day of the month of Tishri (late September to late October). The festival is also known as the Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles, as Jewish families build outdoor booths during the Succoth celebration.

The Brazilian thanksgiving is quite contemporary compared to American thanksgiving. When the Ambassador of Brazil visited U.S. at the invitation of National Cathedral of Washington, D.C., he was enamored by the concept and brought it to his homeland. In southern Brazil, it is a sort of expressing gratitude to Almighty for an enormous harvest. Though acclaimed for its Carnival celebrations they cannot be undermined in other festivities.

In Korea the celebration falls on 15th of August, which is known as Chu-Sok (meaning "fall evening"). It begins on 14th night and continues for three days. Koreans make a dish called 'Songpyon' unique for that occasion consisting of rice, beans, sesame seeds and chestnuts. Before having the food, the family gathers beneath the moonlight, in remembrance of their ancestors and forefathers. The children dress in long-prescribed dress dancing in circle with an inherent desire of their blessing.

The Chinese celebrate August Moon festival that falls on the 15th day of 8th lunar month of their calendar. Chinese believe that the moon is roundest and brightest on this day. Below the heavenly moonlight, lovers speak out their heart to each other. It is also known as Women Festival. Conventionally women are considered similes to warm and compassionate virtues and have the gift of fertility, just like Mother Earth. Unlike the famous pumpkin pie, the Chinese delicacies consist of moon-cake. Friends and relatives convey their regard to each other by gifting moon cake.

In India, different states have different harvest festivals. Some of the most popular ones are Pongal and Onam in South India, and Baisakhi in the north. Pongal is the thanksgiving for the rice harvest, and celebrated for three days from 14th January. Each day is devoted to one of the three who contributes to a harvest: god, the sun and cattle. The festival is named after a sweet dish made of rice and jaggery. The other south Indian harvest festival Onam is celebrated in the western state of Kerala for ten days, and has its origins in a folktale. Wearing new clothes is a symbol of renewal. Multi-colored floral patterns are drawn on the ground, and there is an elaborate feast. Elephant processions and boat races are major attractions.

In the African countries of Ghana and Nigeria, people celebrate the Yam festival at the end of the rainy season in the beginning of August. As the name suggests, the festival is to give thanks for a harvest of yams. These are offered to the gods and spirits of ancestors and then distributed to the people.

0 comments:

Post a Comment