Thanksgiving Day is a time to give thanks every year for what we have and for a bountiful harvest. This is something that the ancient Greeks also did thousands of years ago.
On Thanksgiving, we show gratitude not only for all that we have and for the fruits of the earth but also for our ancestors having come to the New World. Although the holiday was originally religious in origin with the Pilgrims thanking God and the Native Americans for the gifts they received from them, it is now a holiday for the secular as well in North America. It is seen as a day set aside simply for expressing gratitude.
In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. In the United States, it falls on the fourth Thursday of November.
Ancient Greek predecessor to Thanksgiving
For thousands of years, festivals for giving thanks have taken place in many locations around the world. In ancient Greece, it was believed that when the god of the Underworld, Hades, abducted the young maiden Persephone, her mother, Demeter, refused to feed the world, and winter came upon the land.
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