The days are getting shorter, the wind crisper and the leaves are brown and dry beneath our feet. November can be a dull month, lacking the warm, autumn colors of September and October, and not yet fully embracing the festive, wintry, spirit of December. However, November offers up a welcome respite from the cloudy gloom with the beginning round of holiday festivities, Thanksgiving Day.

Americans tend to think of Thanksgiving as a strictly-American holiday, but the truth is, other countries and regions have their own unique versions of harvest festivals and Thanksgiving celebrations.

In mid-autumn, the Chinese celebrate their harvest with the Zhongqiu Festival. Popular traditions associated with this holiday include: eating mooncakes, small round pastries with a sweet filling, worshiping and burning incense to deities, and performing traditional dances and ceremonies.

Ancient Greeks and Romans held similar harvest festivals to honor their respective goddesses of corn and grain, Demeter and Ceres. These celebrations included feasting, music, games, and parades. The common Thanksgiving symbol of the cornucopia actually derives from Greek mythology, where it was recognized as a “horn of plenty” created by the Greek god, Zeus, to provide an endless supply of whatever the owner might wish for.
Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October. Similar to America, they observe the day as a chance to give thanks for bountiful harvests. Traditions such as parades, feasts and time spent with family are expected. The Canadian Football League holds an annual doubleheader, the Thanksgiving Day Classic and the Kitchener-Waterloo Parade is a popular procession, equivalent to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

American traditions include the Macy’s parade, spending time with family to give thanks, watching football, and of course, eating lots and lots of turkey and pumpkin pie. Orono senior, Amalie Hansen, an exchange student from Denmark, comments, “We don’t really have a Thanksgiving holiday, but there is one day, “Mortens aften” honoring a priest who was hiding because he was Christian, and some ducks made a lot of noise so the people found him, and so every year on that day we eat duck.”

Imogen Barwick, another senior exchange student, said that while they do not have a Thanksgiving-like holiday in New Zealand, she is “looking forward to saying what I am thankful for, eating turkey and watching football like in the movies.” Hansen also stated, “I have seen it on TV a million times, so being a part of it is going to be so much fun! I am thankful for coming here, and that I have met so many great people. They have really helped make my time here unforgettable!”

Andrea Conover is the Copy Chief for The Spartan Speaks.