There are almost two hundred different countries in the world. All of these countries have their own way of giving thanks and showing appreciation for those around them. This article will go over some of the  popular holidays in other countries that show thankfulness. 

Yam Festival-

  One popular holiday that shows thankfulness is from West Africa called the Yam festival. This festival is primarily celebrated in Nigeria and Ghana. The Yam Festival marks the beginning and end of the farming season. It is also used as a way to celebrate life and accomplishments. For this holiday, people do traditional dances and play different instruments. A big tradition that comes from this festival is the feast of yams. They cook yams in many different ways and then they eat them. Overall, the holiday is to celebrate the yam harvest and to hope for a good harvest the following year.

Kinrō Kansha no Hi- 

Labour Thanksgiving day is a public holiday in Japan. This holiday is primarily to give thanks to those working and to celebrate production. For the holiday, they have the Nagano Labor Festival. This is an event that pushes for discussions about issues such as human rights and the environment. Overall, the holiday usually does not have any enormous parades or festive activities. It is, however, celebrated more quietly among families. Some Japanese families will get off work and go enjoy a nice dinner while having fun. The biggest tradition for Labour Thanksgiving day is young children making cards or gifts for workers. Kinrō Kansha no Hi or Labour Thanksgiving day is more of a quiet holiday that celebrates its workers. 

August Moon Festival-

 This festival has many names such as Moon festival, Mooncake festival and Mid-Autumn festival. This festival is celebrated in Chinese culture, but is also celebrated in many other Asian countries. For the day many families pray for the future. The day also celebrates the reunion of family and friends. During this celebration, in China, mooncakes are typically eaten amongst friends, family and paper lanterns are thrown in the air. The festival is the second most important in China after Chinese new year. All in all the holiday is for appreciating the moon and being around those you love.

Pongal-

 Also known as Tai Pongal, it is a religious harvest festival that lasts for about three days around January 14th. The holiday is primarily celebrated in South India more specifically in Tamil Nadu. This time is to celebrate Uttarayan start of the sun journey. The sun, mother nature, and farm animals are all commonly thanked during this festival for providing a good harvest. For the festival it is common practice to decorate cows and their horns,  decorating and viewing kolam art works, meeting up with family and friends and praying in homes and temples. Pongal really is a fun and loving holiday that brings everyone together to celebrate the sun god and the harvest.

Thanksgiving is the day that Americans take to say thanks to the people or things that they are grateful for.. People around the United States from different cultures may not particularly celebrate this holiday itself, but they sure have things that they are thankful for and days that they celebrate it. 

This article wanted to put that in perspective… We all have different traditions, beliefs and holidays, but at the end of the day we are all thankful for something. That is the true connection between people and the meaning of Thanksgiving.