Does Thanksgiving have Pagan origins? I know Christmas and Easter do, but what about Thanksgiving?

Question

Please don't answer if you don't know. Please provide a link or information on how you know.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Thanksgiving is a Christian celebration supposedly established by the Pilgrims after the harvest. The native Americans taught the Europeans how to survive in their new environment and to say thanks, they invited the natives to a big feast. Or so the story goes. then, as more Europeans arrived, they began to slaughter the self-same people who originally were helpful. But the Europeans will stop once a year to thank god for their food.

So it probably had no direct pagan influence but I can bet that all religions have some kind of harvest celebration. so there may have been some connection there

Answer 2

We all learned that during the fall of 1621, noble Pilgrims invited friendly and helpful Indians to a feast to celebrate a rich autumn harvest at a new colony called Plymouth, in what is now Massachusetts.

The actual first Thanksgiving took place in St. Augustine on September 8,1565 – 55 years before the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts.

Some El Paso, Texas, citizens claim that the first Thanksgiving occurred on the Rio Grande on April 30, 1598, four centuries ago, a few miles downstream from their city's modern location. It was celebrated by Don Juan de Onate's expedition upon reaching the river en route to colonize northern New Mexico for Spain.

President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November 1863.

No pagan origins. Only a spirit of thankfulness is common to all these events.

Answer 3

Thanksgiving is one of the holidays that doesn't appear to have a link to pagan assimilation, unlike Easter (Ostara) or Christmas (the birth of the Son/Sun). Certainly, celebrations of the harvest are part of many pagan traditions. But Thanksgiving marks the sharing of food between the native people and the Europeans who arrived on this continent. That's not necessarily a "pagan-only" tradition.

Answer 4

No pagan origins, although harvest festivals were certainly common among various pagan cultures. It is suspect that Thanksgiving falls so close to a very similar Jewish holiday, though I can't prove that had anything to do with it. The celebration of Thanksgiving was first formalized by Abe Lincoln.

Answer 5

The Pagan Romans celebrated Ceralia, homage to the goddess Ceres. of trees and gardens. Sometime during the Fall. All indigenous peoples had a harvest festival, end year/new year. The Aztecs beheaded a virgin girl (carving the turkey?) to ensure a successful crop for the new growing season. In Baja California Mexico there was a ritual feeding frenzy among the Guaycura when the cactus fruit, Pitahaya, ripened in October/November...the good Jesuit padres of the 17th century were appalled and told their disciples they would surely go to Hell for their intoxicant behavior. Sounds like Thanksgiving dinner at my house. Look at crosswalk.com for some funny remarks and good info.

Answer 6

The aspect with the turkey dinner, Pilgrims, Native Americans does not have Pagan origins. However the concept of harvest does stem from ancient Pagan beliefs and rituals and is not an American creation at all.

I think this one of those things you can go either direction on and still be correct.

Answer 7

everybody can convert to Judaism- there is refusal for any particular communities interior the famous era. The Torah does shrink specific communities which includes Moabites, Ammonites and Egyptians and Nessim- yet none of those particular communities are identifiable in the present day. Even interior the 2nd temple era the Egyptians of the time have been pointed out a snot being an analogous team because of the fact the egyptians from the time of the Exodus that are excluded). to transform- you first could convince the community Rabbinical courtroom to accepy you as a skill convert. it quite is truly not computerized and you may assume them to purpose and dissuade you and deliver you away. additionally, while you're a minor or residing with non-Jews and are not interior of strolling distance to a synagogue- it is particularly uncertain that any orthodox Rabbinical courtroom could settle for you right into a conversion programme as you would be residing in a topic wherein you may stay and cling to an observant Jewish existence type. as quickly as accepted right into a conversion programme, you may locate the attitude variations dramatically and you develop into very accepted and could acquire various help- besides the indisputable fact that, it truly is basically the start- an orthodox conversion many times takes a minimum of two years and would take in to 5 years (or longer for peopel that truly do no longer prepare themselves). Liberal conversions additionally take time- anywhewre from 6 months to 18 months (nevertheless nthese conversions are actually not accepted by Orthodox and function various levels of accpetance among the liberal movements. All movements settle for Orthodox conversions).

Answer 8

Those pagans. They thought of everything. Thanksgiving is not a uniquely American thing though you guys have your own particular way of doing it. Thanking God or 'the Gods' in Fall after bringing in the harvest, not necessarily involving turkeys, is something that people do and have done in almost every culture and in almost every time period, most certainly including pagans.

Answer 9

Well lets see....christmas and easter have been around for a long time oh and they originated in europe....so yeah they would have pagan origins. Thanksgiving originated in the United States (different continent), different time. It's a newer tradition and is not a religious event, so no no pagan origins.

Answer 10

thanksgiving is based on harvest celebrations that have gone on around the world since we've had harvests...the 'typical american thanksgiving' we're all familiar with (turkey, corn, pumpkins, squash, etc) did NOT first occur in plymouth with the pilgrims-it occured over a decade earlier in virginia...in what is now known as charles city county...the feast is celebrated each year at berkely plantation...my wife is a chickahominy indian, one of the tribes at that original celebration, and has repeatedly instructed me on the 'real deal'- it wasn't a stuffy sit-down dinner followed by a long nap...it was a true celebration...more like a festival with games and music...the menu included, along with what most folks are familiar with at the thanksgiving table, venison and lots of seafood..it was a colonial 'throw-down'