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Wednesday 24 November 2021

Thanksgiving 2021

Here in the UK the Countdown to Christmas continues. Christmas Cards are being written, Christmas Gifts being bought … and possibly you've got some food in the cupboard or freezer waiting to be consumed over the Christmas festivities.

Of course if like us you have American friends and bloggers they have been getting ready for Thanksgiving Day which is tomorrow, Thursday 25th November, … for our blogging friends in Canada they have already celebrated theirs!

As Covid is still a world-wide issue holiday celebrations for many of us may still be different this year but we can all do our best to have a healthy holiday season.


"Thanksgiving is an unusual holiday because it doesn’t always fall on the same day of the year. But unlike Halloween and Christmas the holiday always falls on the same day of the week, Thursday.

While this may make planning around the holiday easier every year, many people don’t seem to know why the holiday is scheduled this way.

This year, Thanksgiving will fall on Nov. 25, which is the fourth Thursday of the month. This has been the way that the date for the holiday has been determined since 1941. Before this, the holiday was traditionally held on the last Thursday of November.

In 1939, however, the last Thursday of the month was also the last day of the month. President Roosevelt was concerned that this would hurt shorten the Christmas shopping season, so he issued a proclamation that Thanksgiving would occur on the second to last Thursday of November instead.

This was a controversial decision, and in 1941, the House and Senate passed a resolution saying that Thanksgiving would occur on the fourth Thursday of November. This would thereby maintain the Christmas shopping season during years when November had five Thursdays.

This may answer why the holiday is scheduled the way that it is, but it doesn’t explain why Thursday was chosen instead of another day of the week.

The reason for this is a bit unclear. Going back to the earliest days of the tradition.

Historians believe that Thursday was chosen because it was one of the more convenient days of the week to have an annual feast. For the early Puritan settlers, Sunday was the Sabbath. It’s likely that the early days of giving thanks were purposely scheduled not to interfere with the Sabbath. Also, Fridays were commonly days of fasting, making them inconvenient feast days for many people.

Since ministers would often give lectures on Thursdays in the New England area, Thursday seemingly became a convenient day for Thanksgiving. As the years went by, it became a tradition. By the time George Washington issued a proclamation for a day of Thanksgiving, Thursday had already been associated with feasts of that nature."
Words above from article here

Related Post
Turkey, a fool-proof guide, perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas - see it here

Looking for alternative Vegetarian and Vegan Thanksgiving / Christmas recipes have a look here please note not all shown in the link are low carb!

This blog brings a variety of articles and recipe ideas, and it is important to note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.


Wishing all our readers who may be celebrating Thanksgiving a Happy Day
Good luck and good health to you all

Jan and Eddie

30 comments:

Lowcarb team member said...

NB If the link doesn't work on 'Words above from article here' or you get an access denied message, if you should want to see the original article and post reference this should help.
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/when-thanksgiving-2021-why-on-thursdays

Tom said...

...these can be busy times!

DeniseinVA said...

Thank you so much for this lovely post and your Thanksgiving greeting Jan and Eddie. It is very much appreciated :)

Lorrie said...

An interesting history of American Thanksgiving.

Christine said...

Thanks for this information on the US Thanksgiving, I didn't even realize it came on a Thursday.

Jenn Jilks said...

We are going to have to do things differently here.

Lori Miller said...

Thanks! It's dinner at Bob Evans restaurant for me this year.

J.P. Alexander said...

En mi país no se celebra pero siempre creo que hay dar las gracias . Me gusto conocer mas sobre esa fecha. Te mando un beso

My name is Erika. said...

I know you may not celebrate Thanksgiving, but I want to say thanks for the wishes.

Elephant's Child said...

Giving thanks strikes me as a wonderful, wonderful reason to celebrate.

Elizabeth Seckman said...

What a wonderful, informative post. Thank you! Have a happy holiday!

Practical Parsimony said...

We call it a moveable feast, referring to how it is on different dates, not the same date every year.

Margaret D said...

Interesting reading as the 25th day of November will pass we don't give a thought to Thanksgiving because it doesn't effect us. However, it's a reminder to all of us that's it's a special day for many.

Veronica Lee said...

I enjoyed this interesting history of American Thanksgiving.

Happy Wednesday!

Valerie-Jael said...

Thanks for the very informative post! Have a great day! Valerie

Jo said...

An interesting post. I enjoy hearing how these traditions and celebrations came about.

eileeninmd said...

Thank you, a great post on Thanksgiving.
Take care, have a happy day!

Jeanie said...

Leave it to the Brit to share the TG story and teach us things we didn't know! (Like "why Thursday?") Thanks for that! I have to say, I really wish US Thanksgiving was more like Canadian and in mid-October when the harvest is at its peak (and it's a bit further from Christmas). But it is a nice holiday. We will celebrate with friends, then go visit the grands tomorrow.

Sondra said...

I am hoping for a very simple day with no hiccups...this post was chock full of good info.
TC

Conniecrafter said...

I never did know why we had it on a Thursday, I did hear about why they changed it to the fourth Thursday of the month, gotta make that dollar!

CJ Kennedy said...

Interesting post.

Sue said...

Well now I know, thanks so much for the info! We are on holiday this week, so hi from North Devon! Take care and have a great week, Sue xx

Ananka said...

Hope all our American friends have a good one :-D

30th is St Andrews Day up here and my little one starts nursery on that day too!

happyone said...

What a nice post about Thanksgiving. Thank you so much!!

William Kendall said...

A lot of our Yankee neighbours will be quite stuffed tomorrow.

Iris Flavia said...

The Christmas shopping season is a reason to put Thanksgiving on a special day?!
It´s all about money... sad.

Snowbird said...

How interesting! Lots of new information there.xxx

DVArtist said...

Happy Thanksgiving.

Debbie said...

i like thanksgiving...a food day with no pressure of anything else. now we prepare for christmas, i have most of my shopping done and the house is decorated!! it was nice to have my youngest son home, he helped!!

Teresa said...

Espero que todos lo hayan pasado muy bien. Besos.