Exploring Worldwide Traditions of Thankfulness

Written By: Sandi MacCalla, Founder - LifeSkills Academy ~ 11/4/2024

Many cultural traditions around the world emphasize gratitude and thankfulness tied to specific holidays or rituals. Here are several examples for Americans to experience these customs in meaningful ways and suggestions on how to do so (with links to resources for further exploration):

1. Thanksgiving (United States and Canada)

• Essence: Thanksgiving is expressing gratitude for the harvest and the past year's blessings. Families and friends share a meal, often featuring turkey and other traditional foods, and reflect on what they are thankful for.

• How to Honor: Include a moment of reflection before the meal where everyone shares what they’re thankful for or invite friends and neighbors from different cultures to bring a dish representing their heritage.
• Resource: History of Thanksgiving (History Channel)

2. Chuseok (Korea)

• Essence: Chuseok is a major harvest festival in Korea where people honor ancestors with food offerings and express gratitude for an abundant harvest. Families visit hometowns and share meals and cultural traditions.
• How to Honor: Host a gathering where you prepare traditional Korean dishes like songpyeon (rice cakes) and engage in activities like making ancestor memorial tables.
• Resource: Celebrating Chuseok So. Korea Thanksgiving

 3. Diwali (India)

• Essence: Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is to give thanks for prosperity, health, and happiness. People express gratitude by lighting lamps and sharing sweets and gifts with family and friends. It’s a time to reflect on the triumph of light over darkness.
• How to Honor: Decorate your home with lights and rangoli (colorful patterns made from rice or powder), and light candles to symbolize the victory of light.  Consider preparing Indian sweets and sharing them with neighbors.
• Resource: What is Diwali? All About the 2024 Festival of Lights - Parade

4. Erntedankfest (Germany)

• Essence: Similar to Thanksgiving, Erntedankfest is a Christian harvest festival in Germany to give thanks for the year’s bounty of the earth. It often involves church services, parades, and communal meals, with a focus on gratitude.
• How to Honor: Organize a harvest-themed potluck with local produce or create a “thankfulness tree” where each guest writes something they’re grateful for on a leaf and attaches it to a tree or branch.
• Resource: Erntedankfest

5. Shichi-Go-San (Japan)

• Essence: This festival celebrates the growth and health of children aged three, five, and seven. Families express their gratitude for their children’s well-being by visiting shrines, offering prayers, and dressing the children in traditional clothing.
• How to Honor: Celebrate the growth of children by organizing a small ceremony or photo session in traditional clothing or visit a local Japanese garden or shrine as a family.
• Resource: Understanding Shichi-Go-San (Web-Japan)

6. Tet (Vietnam)

• Essence: Tet, or the Lunar New Year, is a time to honor ancestors and show gratitude for family and life’s blessings. People prepare special foods and give thanks for the past year while seeking luck and prosperity in the coming one.
• How to Honor: Decorate your home with peach blossoms or kumquat trees, prepare traditional foods like bánh chưng (square sticky rice cakes), and organize a family reunion where you share your hopes for the new year.
• Resource: Celebrating Tet (Vietnamonline)

7. Kinrō Kansha no Hi (Japan)

• Essence: Known as Labor Thanksgiving Day, this Japanese holiday celebrates workers and expresses gratitude for their contributions to society. It has roots in ancient harvest rituals and focuses on human rights and peace today.
• How to Honor: Express appreciation for workers in your community by delivering thank-you notes or small gifts to essential workers or host a community gathering that celebrates the value of work and community service.
• Resource: Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan (Japan Guide)

8. Yom Kippur (Judaism)

• Essence: While primarily a day of atonement, Yom Kippur involves giving thanks for the opportunity to seek forgiveness and start anew. It’s a time for deep reflection, prayer, and expressing gratitude for life’s blessings.
• How to Honor: Engage in a day of reflection and self-examination, perhaps fasting or doing acts of charity, and end the day with a family meal where you give thanks for the opportunity to start anew.
• Resource: Understanding Yom Kippur (My Jewish Learning)

9. Sukkot (Judaism)

• Essence: This week-long Jewish festival gives thanks for the fall harvest and commemorates the Israelites’ journey in the desert. People build temporary shelters (sukkahs) and spend time in them to express gratitude for their sustenance and protection.
• How to Honor: Build a simple sukkah in your yard or community space and share meals inside it with family and friends while discussing the importance of gratitude and shelter.
• Resource: The Time of Our Rejoicing (Chabad)

10. Songkran (Thailand)

• Essence: Songkran, the Thai New Year, is a time for cleansing, renewal, and expressing gratitude. Water is used symbolically to wash away sins and bad luck, and people give thanks by visiting temples, offering food to monks, and spending time with family.
• How to Honor: Organize a water-themed celebration, perhaps a playful water fight, followed by a time of reflection on renewal and gratitude. You can also visit a local temple or engage in a community service project.
• Resource: Songkran Festival Guide (Culture to Know)

Each of these traditions uniquely emphasizes the importance of reflecting on and appreciating life’s goodness, whether through communal gatherings, rituals, or personal reflection.  They provide a starting point for Americans interested in incorporating these meaningful customs into their holiday celebrations, fostering a deeper understanding and connection, with an appreciation of global traditions.

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.

If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”

—Oprah Winfrey

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