Thanksgiving Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old thanksgiving quotes, thanksgiving sayings, and thanksgiving proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Our rural ancestors, with little blest, patient of labor when the end was rest, Indulged the day that housed their annual grain, with feasts, and off’rings, and a thankful strain. Alexander Pope
It has been an unchallengeable American doctrine that cranberry sauce, a pink goo with overtones of sugared tomatoes, is a delectable necessity of the Thanksgiving board and that turkey is uneatable without it. Alistair Cooke
Thanksgiving creates abundance. Ann Voskamp
Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. Charles Dickens
A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues. Cicero
Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude. Denis Waitley
Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. Edward Sandford Martin
I would rather be able to appreciate things I can not have than to have things I am not able to appreciate. Elbert Hubbard
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. Epictetus
I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage. Erma Bombeck
What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? Erma Bombeck
Drink and be thankful to the host! What seems insignificant when you have it, is important when you need it. Franz Grillparzer
If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily. Gerald Good
The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. H.U. Westermayer
Give thanks for a little, and you will find a lot. "Hausa Proverb West African "
So what do we do?’ We do what all families do. Grin, bear it, and pass the mashed potatoes. Heather Brewer
I am grateful for what I am and have. My Thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite — only a sense of existence. Henry David Thoreau
Pride slays thanksgiving, but an humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves. Henry Ward Beecher
Remember God’s bounty in the year. String the pearls of your favor. Hide the dark parts, except so far as they are breaking out in light! Give this one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude! Henry Ward Beecher
I’m from Canada, so Thanksgiving to me is just Thursday with more food. And I’m thankful for that. Howie Mandel
An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. Irv Kupcinet
Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings. J. Robert Moskin
He who thanks but with the lips Thanks but in part; The full, the true Thanksgiving Comes from the heart. J.A. Shedd
God is pleased with no music below so much as with the thanksgiving songs of relieved widows and supported orphans; of rejoicing, comforted, and thankful persons. Jeremy Taylor
An attitude of gratitude goes a long way when it comes to physical and emotional healing. Jill Bolte Taylor
Thanksgiving. It's like we didn't even try to come up with a tradition. The Thanksgiving tradition is, we overeat. ‘Hey, how about at Thanksgiving we just eat a lot?’ ‘But we do that every day!’ ‘Oh. What if we eat a lot with people that annoy the hell out of us? Jim Gaffiga
To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. Johannes A. Gaertner
And though I ebb in worth, I’ll flow in thanks. John Taylor
Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often. Johnny Carson
Thanksgiving is the meal we aspire for other meals to resemble. Jonathan Safran Foer