Does Japan celebrate Thanksgiving?

         Festivals or ceremonies giving thanks are common in many cultures around the world after the harvest season.   In the United States, the Pilgrims who immigrated to North America from England brought the English tradition of Thanksgiving with them in the 1600s.  The reason for the holiday was to give thanks to God for the blessings of a bountiful harvest and for all things.

         In North America, Thanksgiving is still a time to give thanks for all things and to be mindful of the wonderful blessings bestowed upon us the previous year.  Although the tradition dates back to the 1600s, it was not declared a national holiday until 1863 by Abraham Lincoln.  It falls during the end of the year because it traditionally was associated with the harvest.  As such, many of the foods at the Thanksgiving feast are related to a successful harvest:  corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, string beans, cranberries, fruit pies, pumpkin.

         The celebration in America focuses on the gathering of families and friends over the Thanksgiving feast.   In Thanksgiving lore, the very first  Thanksgiving feast took place between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans who gathered and shared the seasonal harvest with one another and gave thanks for the food and for the fellowship of one another.   The sentiments behind the modern Thanksgiving holiday are still the same: gratitude for food, shelter, family and friends.   The celebration is festive, merry and focuses on a grand feast.

         The most common symbol of a traditional American Thanksgiving is a gigantic roast turkey.  Nowadays the big bird can be prepared in a number of delicious ways: deep fried, smoked, or grilled.   Surprisingly, historians believe that the first Thanksgiving between the Pilgrims and Native Americans were foods native to the New England area.  The main course of their feast did not feature turkey. More likely, they feasted on fish, shellfish, lobster, venison, and waterfowl like ducks or geese.

         In Japan, they also have a Thanksgiving celebration that actually occurs around the same time as the American Thanksgiving  and is called Labor Thanksgiving Day.   Japan’s Labor Thanksgiving Day occurs every year on November 23.   In America, Thanksgiving is always on the fourth Thursday of November rather than a specific date.  

         Kinro Kansha no Hi or Labor Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in Japan.   The law establishing the holiday was adopted during the American occupation after World War II.  The sentiments behind the holiday are quite different from the American Thanksgiving celebration.  Whereas American Thanksgiving is a festive celebration and the kickoff to the Holiday Season, in Japan Labor Thanksgiving Day is a much more conservative affair.

         Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan is a day for Japanese to celebrate labor and production and to give thanks to one another for their work and efforts.  The roots of the holiday lie in the ancient Shinto harvest ceremony known as niiname-sai which can be traced back to as early as 660 BC. 

         Traditionally, during the niiname-sae harvest ceremony, the labor of farm workers was celebrated and the Emperor would dedicate the successful bounty of the harvest to the gods.   After the ceremony the people would gather and sample the newly harvested foods for the first time. 

         The modern day celebration of Labor Day Thanksgiving was established in 1948 after the promulgation of the post-War constitution.  The reasons behind the holiday is to celebrate the establishment of fundamental human rights, expanded rights for workers, the hard work of laborers and to give thanks to one another for the hard work people do, and to give thanks for the fruits of those labors.

         There is no equivalent of a Thanksgiving celebration feast as in America. To celebrate many Japanese school children draw pictures or create other simple forms of art and give them to their local offices and fire departments to show their gratitude for the work they do protecting their society. 

         Although the two holidays are different, they both feature the similar main theme of gratitude, appreciation and thanks.  It is a time to be thankful for each other in both traditions.  We wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! 

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