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Holidays and Observances - Do All Countries Celebrate Thanksgiving?

Do all countries celebrate Thanksgiving?

Many groups of people around the world give thanks, usually at a celebration following a major crop harvest. In the United States, Thanksgiving commemorates the successful harvest reaped by the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony (part of present-day Massachusetts) after their first winter in America. According to the traditional story, the Pilgrims gathered to give thanks, sharing a feast with their Native American neighbors, who had made possible their survival in the New England wilderness.

President George Washington (1732–1799) designated special days for national thanksgiving. Modern celebrations began in 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday to be held the last Thursday in November. The U.S. Congress (the country's law-making body) made the holiday official in 1941. Canadians also celebrate Thanksgiving in...

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