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Happy Thanksgiving! May you and yours celebrate all the goodness of God today.
The Thanksgiving holiday originated in the United States. But this holiday is observed in other countries as well. The second Monday of October is celebrated in Canada. The observance may have begun with French settlers. However, migrants from New England probably also shared many of the American traditions, such as eating turkey.
Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia, celebrates Thanksgiving on the last Wednesday of November. The observance was brought to the island by American whaling ships.
Brazil established an August holiday in 1949. An ambassador observed celebrations at a cathedral in Washington. Brazil’s official holiday was later moved to the fourth Thursday of November.
Liberia celebrates the holiday on the first Thursday of November. It was brought to the nation by freed slaves from the United States.
The Philippines observes Thanksgiving as a cultural rather than national holiday. The observance started when the Philippines were a colony of the United States. *
A few other nations have an observance as well. Note that many of the observances were started by or influenced by a connection with the United States. I don’t say that to prompt national pride. I think the attitude of thankfulness is contagious. In the midst of a nation fussing over power and politics, we must be thankful. God has blessed us and our country. May our thankfulness be contagious.
*”Thanksgiving,” Wikipedia, last updated October 20, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.