Thanksgiving — as it’s celebrated today — is a time of reflection, gratitude, and togetherness. It’s an opportunity to pause and appreciate both the big and small blessings in our lives.
Of course, the story our country has perpetuated about the origin of Thanksgiving is a lie. But that doesn’t mean we can’t rethink and reclaim what this holiday means.
Whether it’s cherished moments with family and friends, the beauty of the world around us, or the simple joys of life, Thanksgiving reminds us to acknowledge and celebrate our many privileges and fortunes.
Throughout history, writers, poets, public figures, and everyday people have captured the essence of Thanksgiving in their words. They speak of gratitude, the importance of community, sharing, and the beauty of acknowledging what we have.
As we gather around the Thanksgiving table, share in festivities, or simply take a moment to count our blessings, these quotes can be a source of warmth and inspiration. They remind us that Thanksgiving isn’t just about the feast on our tables but the gratitude in our hearts.
In this collection, we’ve curated some of the most touching, thoughtful, and uplifting quotes about Thanksgiving.
Whether you’re looking for words to share at your Thanksgiving gathering or simply seeking a moment of gratitude-inspired reflection, these quotes will surely resonate:
You might also like: The Ultimate List of Things To Be Grateful For
The Best Quotes About Thanksgiving
Famous Thanksgiving Quotes
“We should just be thankful for being together. I think that’s what they mean by Thanksgiving.”
— Charles M. Schulz
“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”
— Henry David Thoreau
“I try very hard to be grateful and appreciative all year, but it doesn’t hurt to have one dedicated day.”
— Sarah Michelle Gellar
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
— John F. Kennedy
“On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence.”
— William Jennings Bryan
“Remembering that the real meaning of Thanksgiving is gratitude and not food will bring the focus back there.”
— Joshua Rosenthal
“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
“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
Words of Thanksgiving and Gratitude
“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.”
— Maya Angelou
“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.”
— Lionel Hampton
“If you don’t think you have anything to be grateful for, keep looking. Because you don’t just receive optimism.
You can’t wait for things to be great and the be grateful for that. You’ve got to behave in a way that promotes that.”
— Michael J. Fox
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
— Willie Nelson
“When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.”
— Chief Tecumseh
“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.”
— Elie Wiesel
“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
“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.”
— Cynthia Rylant
“Be consistent in your dedication to showing your gratitude to others. Gratitude is a fuel, a medicine and spiritual and emotional nourishment.”
— Steve Maraboli
“‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.”
— Alice Walker
“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.”
— Randy Pausch
“Thanksgiving is a time of togetherness and gratitude.”
— Nigel Hamilton
“Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.”
— Rumi
→ Read more quotes about gratitude
→ Read more ‘thank you’ quotes
Thanksgiving Quotes for Family
“What greater blessing to give thanks for at a family gathering than the family and the gathering.”
— Robert Breault
“I do think that Thanksgiving is a very nice holiday because it’s all about saying thank you; it’s being thankful.”
— Jacob Tremblay
“Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are.” — Joyce Giraud
Thanksgiving Quotes for Friends
“Drink and be thankful to the host! What seems insignificant when you have it, is important when you need it.”
— Franz Grillparzer
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
— Marcel Proust, Pleasures and Days
“I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”
— John F. Kennedy
On Giving Back
“Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving.”
— Amy Grant
“You may have heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There’s another day you might want to know about: Giving Tuesday. The idea is pretty straightforward. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, shoppers take a break from their gift-buying and donate what they can to charity.”
— Bill Gates
“To give back during a holiday where it’s all about giving and being thankful — I’ve always been blessed to have a meal on my plate during Thanksgiving — and to spread that feeling to someone else’s family, it’s special. This is something that is truly important to me.”
— Tobias Harris
“My parents came from little, so they made a choice to give a lot: buying turkeys for homeless shelters at Thanksgiving, delivering meals to people in hospices, giving spare change to those asking for it.”
— Meghan Markle
“I’ve been giving back since I was a teen, handing out turkeys at Thanksgiving and handing out toys at toys drives for Christmas. It’s very important to give back as a youth. It’s as simple as helping an old lady across the street or giving up your seat on the bus for someone who is pregnant.”
— Queen Latifah
→ Read more quotes about giving back
On Thanksgiving Food
“Stuffing is my favorite food in the world! I actually have been known to go buy stuffing and make it in the middle of summer.”
— Emma Roberts
“The turkey. The sweet potatoes. The stuffing. The pumpkin pie. Is there anything else we all can agree so vehemently about? I don’t think so.”
— Nora Ephron
“The key to a successful Thanksgiving is planning. Know what needs to get done, when it needs to be done, and how much effort and time it’s going to take you.”
— J. Kenji Lopez-Alt
“Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.”
— Erma Bombeck
Funny Quotes
“I like football. I find it’s an exciting strategic game. It’s a great way to avoid conversation with your family at Thanksgiving.”
— Craig Ferguson
“I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.”
— Erma Bombeck
“When people come to my act any time after Thanksgiving, I usually say, ‘You shouldn’t be here. You should be shopping. Our economy depends on you! You should be out there buying stuff.’”
— Lewis Black
“I’m from Canada, so Thanksgiving to me is just Thursday with more food. And I’m thankful for that.”
— Howie Mandel
“That’s one of the great things about Thanksgiving: Football’s on!”
— Michael Strahan
“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.”
— Irv Kupcinet
“Thanksgiving is a time to count your blessings, one by one, as each relative goes home.”
— Melanie White
“After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.”
— Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance
Short Quotes
“Although Thanksgiving comes but once a year, every day should be a day of thanks.”
— Monique Hammond
“Thanksgiving is the meal we aspire for other meals to resemble.”
— Jonathan Safran Foer
“Small cheer and great welcome make a merry feast.”
— William Shakespeare
“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything.”
— Thomas Merton
“Forever on Thanksgiving the heart will find the pathway home.”
— Wilbur D. Nesbit
“He who thanks but with the lips thanks but in part; the full, the true Thanksgiving comes from the heart.”
— J.A. Shedd
“If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.”
— W. Clement Stone
“The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.”
— William Blake
More Thanksgiving Quotes & Greetings
“There are three things that people pick up on the instant they walk into your home on Thanksgiving. They will be able to feel the human energy. They’ll smell the food. And they will see, instantly, the table.”
— Danny Meyer
“Thanksgiving just gets me all warm and tingly and all kinds of wonderful inside.”
— Willard Scott
“Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.”
— Theodore Roosevelt
“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
“Thanksgiving is the holiday that encompasses all others. All of them, from Martin Luther King Day to Arbor Day to Christmas to Valentine’s Day, are in one way or another about being thankful.”
— Jonathan Safran Foer
P.S. Thanksgiving is followed by Small Business Saturday and Giving Tuesday. Learn more about each of these holidays and more November holidays via our awareness days guides.
