In 2026, US Thanksgiving falls on Thursday 26 November (Canada celebrated on 12 October). This page, part of our Christian holidays in the Bible series, shows where thanksgiving appears in Scripture, the key verses, and a week of psalms to read in the days before the holiday.
Is Thanksgiving in the Bible?
The modern holiday is not. Its American story is usually traced to a 1621 harvest meal in Plymouth Colony, and it became a fixed national holiday much later. What the Bible does contain is the practice of thanksgiving: a whole vocabulary of offerings, songs and feasts built around thanking God for what he has done and given.
Where does the Bible talk about giving thanks?
The thank offering
The law of Moses describes a “sacrifice of thanksgiving”, a type of peace offering brought to say thank you, eaten as a shared meal on the same day (Leviticus 7:11-15).
“If he offers it in thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with olive oil, unleavened wafers coated with oil, and well-kneaded cakes of fine flour mixed with oil.”
Leviticus 7:12 (BSB)
Harvest feasts
Israel’s calendar included harvest festivals. The Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) came after the autumn harvest and was a week of rejoicing that explicitly included servants, foreigners, orphans and widows (Deuteronomy 16:13-15). Many readers see a family resemblance with harvest thanksgivings today, though the two are not the same thing.
“You are to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.”
Deuteronomy 16:13-14 (BSB)
Psalms of thanks
The Psalms give thanks more than any other book. The Book of Psalms includes songs written for processions into the temple, like Psalm 100, and refrains repeated by a congregation, like Psalm 136, where every verse ends with the same line about God’s loving devotion.
“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name. For the LORD is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.”
Psalm 100:4-5 (BSB)
Thanks in the life of Jesus
Jesus gives thanks before feeding the crowds (John 6:11) and at the last supper (Luke 22:19). In Luke 17:11-19 ten men with leprosy are healed, but only one comes back to thank him, and Luke notes he was a Samaritan, an outsider.
“When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan.”
Luke 17:15-16 (BSB)
Thanks in the letters
Paul tells churches to give thanks constantly, not only when life goes well. He wrote this to a young church in Thessalonica that was facing opposition:
“Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (BSB)
What does the Bible mean by giving thanks?
- Thanks names what God has done. Biblical thanksgiving is specific: rescue, harvest, healing, forgiveness. Psalm 107 lists four groups of people rescued and asks each to give thanks.
- Thanks is shared. Thank offerings were eaten together, and harvest feasts included the poor and the foreigner.
- Thanks is possible in hard times. Paul’s call is to give thanks in every circumstance, not for every circumstance.
- Thanks goes with prayer. Philippians 4:6 joins requests and thanksgiving in the same breath.
How do Christians mark Thanksgiving?
Practice varies. Many churches in the US and Canada hold a Thanksgiving service or community meal, and many families read a psalm or share one thing they are grateful for before eating. Churches in Britain and elsewhere hold Harvest Festival services in the autumn, often collecting food for local food banks. None of this is commanded in the Bible; it is a way of practising its theme.
A week of thanksgiving psalms
Seven psalms for the seven days leading to Thanksgiving 2026. Each takes about five minutes to read aloud.
| Date | Read | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 20 Nov | Psalm 100 | Enter with thanks |
| Sat 21 Nov | Psalm 103 | Do not forget his kind deeds |
| Sun 22 Nov | Psalm 107 | Four stories of rescue |
| Mon 23 Nov | Psalm 65 | Harvest and rain |
| Tue 24 Nov | Psalm 138 | Thanks with all my heart |
| Wed 25 Nov | Psalm 145 | Every generation tells the next |
| Thu 26 Nov | Psalm 136 | His loving devotion endures forever |
Want more verses to keep? Our memory verses collection includes several about gratitude and praise.
In summary
- Thanksgiving Day is a US and Canadian holiday, not a biblical feast.
- The Bible is full of thanksgiving: thank offerings (Leviticus 7), harvest feasts (Deuteronomy 16) and psalms of thanks.
- Jesus gave thanks, and Paul asks believers to give thanks in every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
- Biblical thanks is specific, shared with others, and possible in hard times.
- Psalms 100, 107 and 136 are good readings for the holiday.