How to say ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ in 10 different languages
Sunday, 26th September 2010
Thanksgiving Day is a time to give thanks for the harvest and to express gratitude in general.
It possibly dates back to 1565, though the first Thanksgiving meal is generally thought to have taken place in 1621 in the Plymouth colony between the colonists and the Wampanoag tribe. It became a symbol of cooperation and interaction between colonists and Native Americans.
Thanksgiving became a national holiday in the USA in 1941 and is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, while in Canada it falls on the second Monday of October. Thanksgiving is not celebrated in other countries, except by expatriate Americans and Canadians. Thanksgiving celebrations usually involve a large family meal which traditionally includes turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, and also big parades.
Here are some translations of the phrase ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ in other languages:
- French-speaking people in North America might wish one another ‘Bonne Action de grâce’ or ‘Joyeux Thanksgiving’. The Canadian French version of Thanksgiving Day is ‘Jour de l’Action de grâce’, and in France it is known as ‘le Jour de Merci Donnant’.
- In Spanish Thanksgiving Day is known as ‘el Día de Acción de Gracias’ and Happy Thanksgiving is ‘¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!’. The festival is also known as ‘Día del Pavo’ (Turkey Day) by Spanish speakers from Latin America living in the USA.
- The Portuguese equivalent for Thanksgiving Day is ‘O Dia de Acção de Graças’ , and for Happy Thanksgiving, ““Feliz (dia de) acção de graças””.
- The German version of Happy Thanksgiving is ‘Herzliche Danksagung’ or ‘Fröhliche Danksagung’ and the day itself is ‘Danksagung’.
- In Danish Thanksgiving Day is ‘Helligdag’ and Happy Thanksgiving is ‘Glædelig Helligdag’.
- In Dutch Thanksgiving Day is ‘Gedenkdagen’ and Happy Thanksgiving is ‘Vrolijke gedenkdagen’.
- In Swedish Thanksgiving Day is ‘Helgdag’ and Happy Thanksgiving is ‘God Helgdag’.
- In Polish Thanksgiving Day is ‘Dzień Dziękczynienia’ or ‘Święto Dziękczynienia’ and Happy Thanksgiving is ‘Święto dziękczynienia’ or ‘Wszystkiego najlepszego z ozkazji Święta Dziękczynienia’.
- In Mandarin Chinese Thanksgiving Day is 感恩節日 [感恩节日] (gănēnjiérì) and Happy Thanksgiving is 感恩節快樂 [感恩节快乐] (gănēnjié kuàilè).
- In Japanese Thanksgiving day is 感謝祭 (kanshasai) and Happy Thanksgiving is感謝祭おめでとう (kanshasai omedetō) or ハッピー感謝祭 (happī kanshasai).
Tags: thanksgiving, mandarin, chinese, portuguese, language, festival, united states, france, german, french, spanish, english
Posted by Simon Ager 2010-09 under Experience Cultures, Vocabulary,
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Posted by liz on 11/24 at 11:08 PM
so cool!
Posted by sonia on 11/26 at 09:31 PM
Wow, thanks for posting this!
Posted by Learning a Language on 10/11 at 08:52 AM
Thanks for the post..
I have learned something today.
Posted by Karen on 10/05 at 07:32 PM
I've always heard "Erntedankfest" in German, which is thanks for the harvest.
Posted by Debbie Knerim on 11/20 at 08:04 PM
This is very informative . I am also looking for Thanksgiving in Russian and Roumanian.
Pl ease help me. What is the reason for typing "children63" ? and why is it crooked?
Posted by Red on 11/21 at 04:27 AM
Saying Happy Thanksgiving in Arabic " eed shokr Saeed "
Posted by Alexander Busch on 11/22 at 02:42 PM
German one is idiomatically incorrect....