{"id":14688,"date":"2026-11-11T13:25:45","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T04:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/?p=14688"},"modified":"2026-11-11T13:25:45","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T04:25:45","slug":"is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Thanksgiving America&#8217;s Version of Christmas?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1.webp\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-14689\" src=\"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-300x300.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-150x150@2x.webp 300w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-150x150.webp 150w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-60x60.webp 60w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-43x43.webp 43w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-106x106.webp 106w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-615x615.webp 615w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-400x400.webp 400w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-292x292.webp 292w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1.webp 1000w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-300x300@2x.webp 600w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-60x60@2x.webp 120w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-43x43@2x.webp 86w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-106x106@2x.webp 212w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-400x400@2x.webp 800w, https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-292x292@2x.webp 584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To someone in Japan, Thanksgiving might look a little like American Christmas. Families travel home, everyone gathers around a big meal, and there&#8217;s plenty to celebrate. But there&#8217;s no Santa Claus, no presents under the tree, and no Christmas carols. So what&#8217;s the occasion? Thanksgiving is an American national holiday celebrated every November, with roots in harvest celebrations and traditions of giving thanks for life&#8217;s blessings.<\/p>\n<p>While Thanksgiving has strong religious roots, it&#8217;s celebrated by Americans of many different backgrounds and beliefs. For some, it&#8217;s an opportunity to thank God. For others, it&#8217;s a chance to appreciate family, friends, and the good things in life. And for many, it&#8217;s a little of both! Unlike Christmas, which has become closely associated with giving presents, Thanksgiving is about recognising what we already have.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Come celebrate Thanksgiving with us!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Join the Victory Word Center family on Sunday, 22 November 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at Victory Place Building in Sengendai, Saitama. Everyone is welcome!<\/p>\n<p>More Information:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/contact\/\">Contact Us<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>See you on Thanksgiving, if not before (Sundays)!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To someone in Japan, Thanksgiving might look a little like American Christmas. Families travel home, everyone gathers around a big meal, and there&#8217;s plenty to celebrate. But there&#8217;s no Santa&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Is Thanksgiving America&#039;s Version of Christmas? | VWC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is Thanksgiving? Is it different from Christmas? Discover the origins, traditions, and meaning behind America&#039;s holiday of gratitude!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Thanksgiving America&#039;s Version of Christmas? | VWC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is Thanksgiving? Is it different from Christmas? Discover the origins, traditions, and meaning behind America&#039;s holiday of gratitude!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Victory Word Center- Tokyo, Japan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-11T04:25:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"chris\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"chris\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"chris\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98c30889e64a130facf1f13d38599b23\"},\"headline\":\"Is Thanksgiving America&#8217;s Version of Christmas?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-11T04:25:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":186,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-300x300.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/\",\"name\":\"Is Thanksgiving America's Version of Christmas? | VWC\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-300x300.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-11T04:25:45+00:00\",\"description\":\"What is Thanksgiving? Is it different from Christmas? Discover the origins, traditions, and meaning behind America's holiday of gratitude!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-300x300.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-300x300.webp\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is Thanksgiving America&#8217;s Version of Christmas?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/\",\"name\":\"Victory Word Center- Tokyo, Japan\",\"description\":\"Passion For God, Passion For People\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Victory Word Center- Tokyo, Japan\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/VWC-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/VWC-logo.png\",\"width\":204,\"height\":75,\"caption\":\"Victory Word Center- Tokyo, Japan\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98c30889e64a130facf1f13d38599b23\",\"name\":\"chris\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4f768d7321e5dcb127d4c314aa9a9115339667be573ff6524293485e7e32fd38?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4f768d7321e5dcb127d4c314aa9a9115339667be573ff6524293485e7e32fd38?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4f768d7321e5dcb127d4c314aa9a9115339667be573ff6524293485e7e32fd38?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"chris\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vwc.jp\\\/en\\\/author\\\/chris\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is Thanksgiving America's Version of Christmas? | VWC","description":"What is Thanksgiving? Is it different from Christmas? Discover the origins, traditions, and meaning behind America's holiday of gratitude!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is Thanksgiving America's Version of Christmas? | VWC","og_description":"What is Thanksgiving? Is it different from Christmas? Discover the origins, traditions, and meaning behind America's holiday of gratitude!","og_url":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/","og_site_name":"Victory Word Center- Tokyo, Japan","article_published_time":"2026-11-11T04:25:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"chris","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"chris","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/"},"author":{"name":"chris","@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/#\/schema\/person\/98c30889e64a130facf1f13d38599b23"},"headline":"Is Thanksgiving America&#8217;s Version of Christmas?","datePublished":"2026-11-11T04:25:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/"},"wordCount":186,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-300x300.webp","articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/","url":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/","name":"Is Thanksgiving America's Version of Christmas? | VWC","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-300x300.webp","datePublished":"2026-11-11T04:25:45+00:00","description":"What is Thanksgiving? Is it different from Christmas? Discover the origins, traditions, and meaning behind America's holiday of gratitude!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-300x300.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/vwc-bl-tgp1-1-300x300.webp"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/is-thanksgiving-americas-christmas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is Thanksgiving America&#8217;s Version of Christmas?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/#website","url":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/","name":"Victory Word Center- Tokyo, Japan","description":"Passion For God, Passion For People","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/#organization","name":"Victory Word Center- Tokyo, Japan","url":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/VWC-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/VWC-logo.png","width":204,"height":75,"caption":"Victory Word Center- Tokyo, Japan"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/#\/schema\/person\/98c30889e64a130facf1f13d38599b23","name":"chris","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f768d7321e5dcb127d4c314aa9a9115339667be573ff6524293485e7e32fd38?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f768d7321e5dcb127d4c314aa9a9115339667be573ff6524293485e7e32fd38?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f768d7321e5dcb127d4c314aa9a9115339667be573ff6524293485e7e32fd38?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"chris"},"url":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/author\/chris\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14688"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14692,"href":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14688\/revisions\/14692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vwc.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}