Thanksgiving Quotes to Inspire Thankfulness

Thanksgiving is a truly special time. It is a holiday generally celebrated in Canada and the USA. In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October while in the US it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. The Canadian tradition can be traced back to mid-1500 to 1700, while the American tradition originated around the 1600s, with both countries’ specific date of origin uncertain. The differences in date between the two countries are likely due to Canada’s harvest season ending earlier due to its colder winter weather.

The Thanksgiving tradition began as a way to commemorate last year’s harvest and to be thankful for its bounty and is rooted in Protestant Christianity, though today, like Christmas, it is a holiday that is celebrated by people of all faiths and cultures. Today, people take the opportunity to spend time with their family, make elaborate meals of turkey and pie, and take a moment to be thankful.

If you’re looking for some inspiration this year, whether to add as décor to your home, raise a glass in a toast, or to create your moment of gratitude, Give Gift Boutique Hong Kong has gathered the most inspirational and lighthearted Thanksgiving day quotes that will be sure to make you smile and bring some added joy and thankfulness to the holiday.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Thanksgiving Day Quotes

“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” — John F. Kennedy

“Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings.” — J. Robert Moskin

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” — Henry Van Dyke

“Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.” — E.P. Powell

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” — W.T. Purkiser

“Give thanks not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day of your life. Appreciate and never take for granted all that you have.” — Catherine Pulsifer

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” — Charles Dickens

“If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.” — W. Clement Stone

“In November, people are good to each other. They carry pies to each other’s homes and talk by crackling woodstoves, sipping mellow cider. They travel very far on a special November day just to share a meal with one another and to give thanks for their many blessings – for the food on their tables and the babies in their arms.” — Cynthia Rylant, In November

“Overeating at Thanksgiving is a case in point. It’s a national tradition.” — Eric Samuel Timm, Static Jedi: The Art of Hearing God Through the Noise

“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.” — Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

“For me, every hour is grace. And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile.”— Ellie Wiesel

"What I love about Thanksgiving is that it’s purely about getting together with friends or family and enjoying food. It’s really for everybody, and it doesn’t matter where you’re from." — Daniel Humm