Thanksgiving Day, U.S. and Canadian holiday. In the U.S. Thanksgiving is modeled on a harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people in 1621. It is intended to celebrate the blessings of the past year. Thanksgiving Day became an official U.S. holiday in 1863, and in 1942 the federal government designated the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving. A traditional Thanksgiving meal consists of turkey, cranberries, bread stuffing, and pumpkin pie, among other dishes. Canada traces its Thanksgiving celebration to 1578, and Thanksgiving became a national holiday there in 1879; since 1957 it has been celebrated on the second Monday in October.
