Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in many countries around the world, including Canada and the United States. It is commonly associated with gratitude, harvest, and family gatherings. However, there is a debate about whether Thanksgiving has pagan origins. Some argue that Thanksgiving has its roots in pagan harvest festivals, which were prevalent in ancient civilizations. These festivals were dedicated to giving thanks for a bountiful harvest and were often accompanied by feasting and rituals. The similarities between these ancient celebrations and modern-day Thanksgiving suggest that Thanksgiving may have pagan origins.
17 Bible Verses About Thanksgiving
In 1926, Concordia University Texas was established as a Christ-centered Lutheran university. The Word of God has an incredible impact on the human heart. As Hebrews 4:12 explains, the word of God is alive and active.
This year, as we gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, let's remember to celebrate the greatest gift of all — salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here are 17 Bible verses to help you reflect on the abundant blessings of God.
Please note that all Bible verses are from the NIV unless otherwise noted.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 103:1-4
Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all His benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.
Colossians 2:6-7 (NKJV)
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Isaiah 12:4-5 (NASB)
And on that day you will say, "Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; make them remember that His name is exalted." Praise the LORD in song, for He has done glorious things; let this be known throughout the earth.
James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
1 Chronicles 16:34 (ESV)
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!
Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."
Psalm 95:1-5 (NKJV)
Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth' the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 118:24 (ESV)
This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Colossians 3:15-17
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
1 Chronicles 29:13 (NKJV)
"Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name."
Ephesians 5:18-20 (NASB)
… but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father.
Psalm 107:1-3 (ESV)
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
Hebrews 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.
Psalm 119:1-8
Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD.
Blessed are those who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart — they do no wrong but follow His ways.
You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.
I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.
2 Corinthians 9:15
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
The Pagan Origins of Thanksgiving
It’s almost time for Thanksgiving, one of my personal favorite holidays. We’re all familiar with the classic story of Native Americans dining with Pilgrims. But, our modern day Thanksgiving has deeper Pagan roots than many may be aware of. So let’s dig into the history of this holiday and reveal some surprising Pagan elements.
Part 1 - The History
In America, it’s believed that the first Thanksgiving took place in 1621, but this was not the first time people gathered to give thanks for the Autumn harvest. In fact, people have been celebrating the harvest for millenia and our Thanksgiving meal is just a modern incarnation reflecting these ancient celebrations of autumn abundance.
Most of our modern holidays, like Christmas and Easter, are a combination of Pagan and Christian traditions. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, doesn’t have as much of a Christian influence. While Thanksgiving is not tied to any one specific religion, it’s traditions are quite similar to a number of ancient Pagan harvest celebrations. For example, in ancient Rome they celebrated the holiday of Cerelia, which honored the harvest goddess of grain called Ceres. There are around a 100 different harvest Gods and Goddesses from Greek & Roman culture so it’s clear that celebrating the harvest season was a key feature of their spiritual beliefs.
Harvest celebrations were also vitally important during Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Pagan times. In Britain these traditions evolved into a holiday called Harvest Home. Historically, the date of Harvest Home differed each year as it was celebrated when all of the autumn crops were finally harvested. The final cartload of food was paraded through the town and a big Harvest Supper was celebrated among the villagers. Apparently these harvest suppers started to get a bit out of hand, and in 1867, were described as “unrestrained riot and excess.”
In addition to Harvest Home, a separate religious holiday called the "days of thanksgivings" was practiced in the Church of England, in which people set aside one religious day of their choosing to "give thanks to God." We get the name “Thanksgiving” from this Christian tradition, while the feasting commonly associated with Thanksgiving largely derives from the Harvest Home celebrations.
Luckily for us Americans, our harvest Thanksgiving celebrations were never commandeered by the church and as such they remain pretty Pagan to this day. Here in America, a lot of our imagery around Thanksgiving shows a shared meal between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. It could be said that this rosy view of our first Thanksgiving meal together is largely misleading and helps to obscure the many atrocities the colonists committed upon the Native Americans. The Native Americans, like the ancient Pagan peoples of Europe, understood the importance of honoring and respecting the harvest. And during the first American Thanksgiving that took place in 1621, the Native Americans paused to give thanks to many spirits and deities that aided in the bountiful harvest.
Part 2 - The Symbols
There are three key symbols that are common to Thanksgiving celebrations: the cornucopia (aka the horn of plenty), the turkey, and corn. All these symbols were viewed as very important among Pagan societies. Let’s begin with the Cornucopia, which was an important symbol in ancient Greece and Rome. A cornucopia is a horned shaped basket that is usually filled with harvest fruits and vegetables. This symbol goes back to a story from Ancient Greece where a goat pulled off his horn and offered it to the God Zeus. This was a magic horn that would refill indefinitely with food and drink ensuring that Zeus would never go hungry. To give thanks to the goat, Zeus made the goat’s image in the night sky, which became the constellation we now call Capricorn.
The Cornucopia was also incorporated in statues and money across ancient Rome and was often used in representations of the goddesses of grain Ceres and the goddess of luck Fortuna. The cornucopia has even made an appearance in American currency. After all, the cultural identity of early America is largely inspired by ancient Greek & Roman culture and their systems of government.
The next symbol I want to mention is the Turkey, which is the centerpiece of the American Thanksgiving dinner. Many Native American tribes view Turkey as a symbol of fertility and abundance. As a totem animal, Turkey reminds us of the importance of our relationship with the land as the land is the source of our nourishment and sustenance. Turkey feathers are also viewed as especially important and are used in ritual wear and in smudging ceremonies. So when we eat Turkey at Thanksgiving we are celebrating & honoring the connection we have with our sacred land and the animal spirits.
Lastly, corn is often used as a symbol to represent Thanksgiving. Corn, also called maize, was a key staple crop among the Native Americans and it played an important role in their spiritual beliefs. In some tribes Corn itself was seen as a spirit and often it played a role in ceremonies. Historically, it is also believed that the Native Americans taught the pilgrims how to grow and harvest corn and without that knowledge they would have never survived the harsh winters.
Part 3 - Sports.
Why we should not celebrate Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is generally taught as an acceptable holiday to celebrate in the larger congregations of God. But this acceptance is based primarily on the belief that the Pilgrims created Thanksgiving. But the origins of Thanksgiving are a combination of superstition, myths and false Christianity, similar to Christmas, Easter, Halloween.
Summary of this paper
- Thanksgiving was not started by the Pilgrims, this is now a well known fact, and is widely reported by historians as a myth
- Two separate thanksgiving celebrations were brought to America, one a religious event, the other was a harvest festival
- The harvest festival was a pagan celebration, the religious thanksgiving was from the Church of England
- The King of England proclaimed days of thanksgiving during the American colonial period, without the influence of Pilgrims or Puritans
- In the 1800s Sarah Hale marketed the idea of a universal national American thanksgiving holiday that combined the religious thanksgivings with the harvest festival thanksgivings
- Sarah Hale specifically and repeatedly stated that she intended to combine God's harvest festivals with Thanksgiving Day
- The cornucopia is a Greek & Roman religious symbol that can be traced back directly to the time of Jesus and further into the past
- Removing the pagan elements does not change the pagan origins of any holiday
- Our current justifications for observing Thanksgiving Day are based on misinformation and myths
The similarities between these ancient celebrations and modern-day Thanksgiving suggest that Thanksgiving may have pagan origins. On the other hand, many believe that Thanksgiving has more Christian influences. They argue that the holiday originated from the Pilgrims, who were religious separatists from England.
What makes a holiday “pagan”?
The Christmas tree and Easter bunny are not the only things that make Christmas and Easter pagan, and removing them would not make either celebration "Christian". And likewise, removing the cornucopia, or traditions like "breaking the wish bone", would not change the history or intent of Thanksgiving. What truly makes a holiday pagan is its history and origins, regardless of its decorations or activities.
According to this perspective, Thanksgiving is a way to give thanks to God for the blessings of the year, particularly for the successful harvest. Despite the debate, Thanksgiving has evolved over the years and has become a secular holiday for many people. It is seen as a time to express gratitude for the good things in life and to spend quality time with loved ones. The religious or pagan origins of the holiday may no longer be significant to most people celebrating Thanksgiving today. In conclusion, the question of whether Thanksgiving is a pagan holiday remains a topic of debate. While some argue that its origins lie in ancient pagan harvest festivals, others believe that it has more Christian influences. However, for most people, Thanksgiving is simply a time to give thanks and celebrate with family and friends..
Reviews for "Thanksgiving: A Pagan Ritual in American History"
1. Sarah - 1/5 stars - This book is just one big conspiracy theory. The author tries to convince readers that Thanksgiving is actually a pagan holiday, which I found completely ridiculous. The evidence provided is weak and lacks credibility. I was expecting a more balanced and well-researched examination of the holiday's history, but instead, I got a book filled with outrageous claims and baseless arguments.
2. John - 2/5 stars - As someone who enjoys reading about different perspectives, I was intrigued by the idea of exploring the pagan origins of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, this book fell short of my expectations. The author's arguments were scattered and often relied on cherry-picked evidence. While some interesting historical tidbits were presented, the overarching thesis lacked substance. I would recommend looking for more scholarly sources to delve into this topic rather than relying on this book.
3. Emily - 2/5 stars - I was hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the historical context and possible pagan connections associated with Thanksgiving, but this book was a disappointment. The author's writing style was repetitive and did not provide a coherent narrative. Furthermore, the arguments presented lacked solid evidence and failed to convince me of the author's main claim. Overall, I found this book to be poorly researched and unconvincing.
4. Mark - 1/5 stars - I really wanted to like this book as I find the history of holidays fascinating, but "Is Thanksgiving a Pagan Holiday" was a huge disappointment. The author's claims were outlandish and unsupported by credible sources. The book lacked a clear structure and failed to make a compelling case. I would not recommend wasting your time or money on this poorly researched and unconvincing read.
5. Lisa - 2/5 stars - Although the idea of exploring the pagan origins of Thanksgiving intrigued me, this book left much to be desired. The arguments presented were not convincing, and the evidence provided was questionable at best. I was hoping for a more thorough examination of the holiday's history, but this book fell short. I would recommend seeking alternative sources for a more balanced and well-researched perspective on this topic.