Every year, on the fourth Thursday of November, Americans eat an estimated 45 million turkeys and 50 million pumpkin pies to celebrate our annual holiday of Thanksgiving.
Runners compete in races nicknamed turkey trots. Parades and football games blare from television screens. And retailers promote such great deals that shopping is now synonymous with the holiday.
We wondered if other countries celebrate their own version of Thanksgiving. And, after some digging, we learned that, yes, as a matter of fact, some do.
But they celebrate quite differently than you and I.
That is, except for one country. There is a place that observes our turkey day, even though it’s on the other side of the world.
NORFOLK ISLAND
Nestled in the South Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand is Norfolk Island.
This is probably one of the last places one would guess celebrates America’s Thanksgiving. After all, it’s more than 7,000 miles away from the United States and is an Australian territory.
So why does the island care about our holiday?
Apparently, crew from American whaling ships who were working in the area began visiting Norfolk in the late 1800s because they wanted to hire residents to work on the boats.
A man named Isaac Robinson, a local resident on the island, became the liaison between the whalers and the islanders. Whalers often shared with him their stories about Thanksgiving back home, perhaps because they missed their families. So, Robinson decided to make the holiday a tradition on the island so the whalers would feel more at home.
Eventually, some of the whalers’ wives moved to Norfolk while their husbands were away at sea and they taught the islanders how to bake some of America’s traditional Thanksgiving foods, including pies. The women of Norfolk soon perfected the Thanksgiving meal — and Thanksgiving has been a tradition ever since.
However, the islanders have put their own twist on the holiday.
They celebrate it on the last Wednesday of November (instead of Thursday, as we do here) and though traditional foods like pumpkin pie and cornbread are usually found on kitchen tables, they added exotic foods that are local favorites to their menu like passionfruit pies, fish salad and suckling pig.
Giving thanks in Canada
CANADA
By the time our Thanksgiving rolls around, Canada has already celebrated its own turkey day. And while Canada and America’s holidays both share the same name and feast on similar foods, the reason behind each celebration is different.
Always observed on the second Monday of October, Canadians show appreciation for the food they’ve harvested from their land. It has nothing to do with pilgrims, but more to do with being grateful. Some say the first Thanksgiving dinner in Canada was in 1578, when English explorer Martin Frobisher prepared a special meal and thanked God for providing them a safe journey through America to Canada.
Today, Canadian dining room tables are adorned with cornucopias stuffed with corn, squash and pumpkins. Families feast on turkeys, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, just like we do, but there may also be traditional Canadian foods such as pastry pies filled with meat and potatoes, smoked salmon and sweet potato dinner rolls.
Children celebrating Gai Jatra in Nepal
NEPAL
Every year, the president of the United States pardons one special turkey. It’s a fun, annual tradition that involves an animal.
In Nepal, a country in South Asia, they, too, have a tradition that focuses on an animal, but that’s where the similarities stop.
This festival, called Gai Jatra, spotlights the cow, one of the most revered animals in Hinduism, the dominant religion in Nepal. The holiday is held in July or August each year. Those in Nepal say the cows can guide souls, so families who have recently lost loved ones walk cows in a procession that winds through local streets. They believe they are also escorting their deceased loved ones to heaven. If a family doesn’t have a cow, they dress a child as a cow instead.
Though the festival involves death and loss, there are also some lighter parts to the eight-day event. There’s a carnival and performances from local musicians and comedians and, of course, Nepalese food like momo (dumplings stuffed with meats and veggies), sweet rice bread called sel roti and thukpa, a popular noodle soup.
Rouladen, rolled beef stuffed with onions and mustard, enjoyed during Germany’s Erntedankfest
GERMANY
Germany is known for beer, bratwurst and pretzels the size of your head.
And then there are the festivals.
While most of us know of Oktoberfest, we are focusing on Erntedankfest, a harvest festival the Germans equate to Thanksgiving that takes place the first Sunday of October.
It’s mostly celebrated in rural areas, where communities have country fairs, parades and fireworks. There are also Catholic and Protestant church services where members thank God for another successful harvest season.
During the holiday, people feast on homemade breads, goose and a common German roast dish called rouladen, rolled beef stuffed with onions and mustard and doused in gravy. But just as Americans love German food, Germans enjoy American fare, so if you’re in Germany for the Erntedankfest, don’t be surprised if you see turkey on the menu.
JAPAN
Just as in America, Japan also celebrates its own version of Thanksgiving in November. Their special day is usually celebrated on Nov. 23, unless that date falls on a Sunday. Then the holiday is moved to the following Monday.
Kinrō Kansha no Hi — also known as Labor Thanksgiving Day — was first observed in the late 1800s. Families celebrated the rice harvested each year, offering rice to the deities. Today, the national holiday focuses more on essential workers: those in law enforcement, firefighters and healthcare. They’re showered with gifts, cards and accolades from their communities, recognizing them for their hard work.
Kinrō Kansha no Hi is more subdued than our Thanksgiving. There isn’t a lot of fanfare — no parades or turkey trots. As a matter of fact, turkey isn’t a part of this holiday at all. Instead, families share meals of fish and rice and the day is treated more as a day of rest.
But for those Americans who live in Japan and may be homesick, some restaurants in larger cities like Tokyo have graciously added the traditional American turkey meal to their menus on this one special day.
Wing Kwai, Thailand’s Buffalo Racing Festival
THAILAND
While Thanksgiving in Japan sounds rather peaceful, the holiday celebrated this time of year in Thailand is anything but relaxing.
The Buffalo Racing Festival, also known as Wing Kwai, lures residents to the streets every October as they watch brave competitors try to snag the title of fastest water buffalo. It’s a 140-year-old tradition, and it marks the end of rainy season and the beginning of the harvest.
Thai farmers view the water buffalo as a powerful animal which helped make the country’s harvest seasons plentiful over the years. Though tractors have since replaced them, the people of Thailand haven’t forgotten their importance.
Instead of food and family, this particular holiday is more about buffalo racing. Competitors ride the buffalo like jockeys ride their prized horses and spectators often make bets beforehand on who will win the race.
The race is so popular that it has been broadcasted on television channels across the globe, including in the States.
Chinese Mooncakes
CHINA
While some countries applaud animals or food, those in China respect and celebrate the moon.
On the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, (this year it was celebrated on Sept. 10), families in China gather together to thank the moon for a good harvest. They light paper lanterns beneath the moonlight, blazing a bright path for good fortune.
The Moon Festival is not complete without mooncake.
Mooncake is as important to the Chinese as turkey is to Americans. It’s a pastry named after the shape of the moon filled with lotus paste and salted duck egg yolks. It’s usually cut into pieces and shared among the family and is used as a way to unite loved ones.
If you’re interested in trying mooncake, it can usually be found every fall at most Asian grocery stores throughout the United States.
NIGERIA
In the United States, many of us believe that yams are essentially sweet potatoes, which, come Thanksgiving, we bake with marshmallows and pecans. But yams and sweet potatoes are not the same thing. Sweet potatoes have bronze skin and are soft inside, while yams are drier with tougher skins.
In West Africa, among the Igbo people in Southeastern Nigeria, a yam isn’t just a crop, it’s a sign of respect.
Years ago, yams stood for wealth and could be used as a dowry when a man asked a family for his future bride’s hand in marriage.
This root vegetable is held in such high regard that there is a festival celebrating it every August, during the end of the rainy season.
The New Yam Festival is a reminder of the importance of farming and agriculture, and the people celebrate this hard work with parades, dancing, and the preparation of several dishes that contain, you guessed it, yams.