Halloween, Thanksgiving and Their Ukrainian Counterparts

"Its roots lie in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain."

"Americans spend billions of dollars on decorations and candy every year."

"Children dress up in costumes and go from house to house."

Thanksgiving is a peaceful story with no conflict in its history.

The traditional story of Thanksgiving may simplify a more complicated history.

The Wampanoag people did not take part in the 1621 feast.

19 November

28 November

26 November

"Not quite. Both focus on the dead, but Ukrainians remember and feed their ancestors instead of dressing up to frighten spirits."

"Yes, both are equally noisy and playful, since both involve the dead."

"No. The two have nothing in common, because one is religious and the other is secular."

Ukrainians never give presents at Christmas.

Ukrainians do not eat a large dinner at Christmas

American Christmas centres on Santa and shopping, while Ukrainian Christmas is more religious and symbolic.

To show that he was one of the Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth.

To explain how Thanksgiving became an official national holiday.

To argue that Thanksgiving should be abolished

Halloween's customs centre on costumes and fun, while Zadushnytsia centres on remembering the dead.

Halloween was originally a Christian festival, so it is more solemn than Zadushnytsia.

Zadushnytsia takes place indoors, which makes it quieter.

Halloween's roots lie in the Celtic festival of Samhain.

Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.

Ukrainians dress up in costumes to frighten spirits during Zadushnytsia.

Government officials ordered it after the Samhain festival spread across Europe.

Irish and Scottish immigrants brought their customs, and the holiday grew over time.

The Pilgrims from Plymouth introduced it to the country in 1621.

Zadushnytsia, when families visit cemeteries and light candles.

Sviata Vechera, a religious Christmas Eve meal with twelve meatless dishes.

Dozhynky, a harvest festival with songs, wreaths and a festive table.

To bless the first fruits of the year.

To honour the dead and feed the ancestors.

To celebrate the end of fieldwork in autumn.

American holidays are more fun than Ukrainian ones.

Despite their differences, these holidays share roots in the harvest, respect for ancestors and family.

Ukrainian holidays are copies of American ones that arrived with immigrants.