Definition of thanksgiving Thanksgiving

/θæˌŋksgɪˈvɪŋ/ - [thangksgiving] - thanks•giv•ing

We found 10 definitions of thanksgiving from 6 different sources.

What does thanksgiving mean?

WordNet

Noun
thanksgiving - fourth Thursday in November in the United States; second Monday in October in Canada; commemorates a feast held in 1621 by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag
		Thanksgiving Day
		legal holiday, national holiday, public holiday authorized by law and limiting work or official business
		feast day, fete day a day designated for feasting
thanksgiving - a short prayer of thanks before a meal; "their youngest son said grace"
		grace, blessing

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Wiktionary

thanksgiving (Noun)
An expression of gratitude.
thanksgiving (Noun)
A short prayer said at meals; grace, a benediction.
thanksgiving (Noun)
A public celebration in acknowledgement of divine favour.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

thanksgiving (n.)
The act of rending thanks, or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.
thanksgiving (n.)
A public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness; also, a day set apart for religious services, specially to acknowledge the goodness of God, either in any remarkable deliverance from calamities or danger, or in the ordinary dispensation of his bounties.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

thanksgiving
An annual one-day American holiday (taking place on the last Thursday of the month of November) to give thanks for the things one has at the close of the harvest season, traditionally celebrated with a turkey feast.

Wikipedia

Thanksgiving is a holiday in the USA when people give thanks. It is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday of November.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln set aside the last Thursday of November as a national Day of Thanksgiving. Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday of each November as a national holiday in the year 1941.

The First Thanksgiving.

Although not as famous, the first "day of Thanksgiving" actually took place at Berkeley Hundred, Virginia in 1619 - a year before the Mayflower brought the Pilgrims to Massachusetts.

The Pilgrims were early settlers on the east coast of North America. They traveled from England on a ship called "The Mayflower" and made their new home in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, 380 km northeast of what is now New York.

Many of the pilgrims died during their first winter in North America. They were cold and did have enough food. The following year, though, the Native Americans, who were from the Wampanoag tribe, helped them grow crops. At harvest time in the winterof 1621, they were very thankful that they had a good crop of food to eat during the coming winter. They thanked God and the Wampanoags for teaching them how to grow crops.

They invited three of the Wampanoags who had helped them to their feast. They were Squanto, Samoset, and Chief Massasoit. The Wampanoags brought their families. This was over 90 people. There were so many people that the Pilgrims did not have enough food to make the meal, so the Wampanoags brought a