Thanksgiving, once a religious celebration, by a 1941 decree of Congress is now a national festivity taking place on the fourth Thursday of November. Thanksgiving has global roots as a celebration of "harvest time" to convey gratitude and sharing among mortals and their deities. Anglo-centric views assert that the first celebration in the United States was at the site of the Plymouth Plantation in 1621 while others hold that other colonist held celebrations in 1541 in Texas.

THANK and GIVING are, at first blush, words that seem devoid of intricacies. However, like other fundamental words, the ideas in THANK and GIVE are difficult to define. Note that alternatives to "thank you" and "gift" are limited. For example, in German "Denken" and "Danken" clearly link "Think" with "Thank" and bring forth the dimension "to think is to thank". Romans asserted "what I think is so, is so" which points toward "truth", a theme touched upon later.

Regarding "gift", it is perhaps best defined as the opposite of taking as per "grab, grip". Gift, prize, priceless and appreciate do not fully reflect the idea inherent in gift since true gifts are "GRATIS" calling for recipients to say "GRACIAS" or thank your. In fact, seek to GRATIFY and engender GRATITUDE often expressed by GRACIOUS thanks.  The link of "think thank" is further evident when gifts are given to induce recipients to FORGET and FORGIVE past offenses.