Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada.
Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States.
Thanksgiving in Canada falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the United States. Because of the longstanding traditions of the holiday, the
celebration often extends to the weekend that falls closest to the day it is celebrated.
In the United States, the modern
Thanksgiving holiday tradition traces its origins to a 1621
celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts. There is also evidence for an earlier harvest
celebration on the continent by Spanish explorers in Florida during 1565, as well as
thanksgiving feasts in the Virginia Colony. The initial
thanksgiving observance at Virginia in 1619 was prompted by the colonists' leaders on the anniversary of the settlement.
