105 Thanksgiving Quotes About Gratitude and Family [2026]

Thanksgiving quotes about gratitude, family and faith, with verified lines from Lincoln, Washington and great writers, plus short, funny and Bible quotes.

Thanksgiving 2026 falls on Thursday, November 26. It is the one American holiday built entirely around saying thank you.

Every famous quote below has been checked against its original book, poem or proclamation. Tap any quote to copy it.

Homemade pumpkin pie in a baking dish ready for Thanksgiving dinner — The harvest that started it allPhoto: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Famous Thanksgiving Quotes About Gratitude

For a toast, a card or a place card on the table. Real words from writers and thinkers.

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.Ralph Waldo Emerson
Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.Charles Dickens
The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.William Blake
We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.Thornton Wilder
Gratitude looks to the past and love to the present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead.C. S. Lewis
Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.Maya Angelou
Often, too, our own light goes out, and is rekindled by some experience we go through with a fellow-man. Thus we have each of us cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flames within us.Albert Schweitzer
I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks.William Shakespeare
The best way to be thankful is to use the goods the gods provide you.Anthony Trollope
To receive honestly is the best thanks for a good thing.George MacDonald
Gratitude is a fruit of great cultivation; you do not find it among gross people.Samuel Johnson
The still small voice of gratitude.Thomas Gray
A grateful mind by owing owes not, but still pays, at once indebted and discharg'd.John Milton

Where these come from: Emerson's line is from his essay "Friendship" (1841). Dickens wrote his in "A Christmas Dinner" in Sketches by Boz. Blake's is one of his Proverbs of Hell in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Wilder's is from The Woman of Andros (1930), Lewis's from The Screwtape Letters, and Angelou's from Celebrations (2006). Schweitzer wrote his in Memoirs of Childhood and Youth, Shakespeare's is from Twelfth Night, and Milton's from Paradise Lost, Book IV.

Quotes from Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamations

For history lovers and anyone who wants a quote with real weight. Every US president issues a Thanksgiving proclamation, and these lines come straight from the originals.

It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour.George Washington
The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.Abraham Lincoln
No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.Abraham Lincoln
I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise.Abraham Lincoln
Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings, let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals, and let us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world.John F. Kennedy
Today we give our thanks, most of all, for the ideals of honor and faith we inherit from our forefathers.John F. Kennedy
On that day let us gather in sanctuaries dedicated to worship and in homes blessed by family affection to express our gratitude for the glorious gifts of God.John F. Kennedy
America has much for which to be thankful.Ronald Reagan
Americans have always understood that, truly, one must give in order to receive. This should be a day of giving as well as a day of thanks.Ronald Reagan
Although we are a pluralistic society, the giving of thanks can be a true bond of unity among our people.Ronald Reagan

Where these come from: Washington's line opens the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation, dated October 3, 1789. Lincoln's three are from his proclamation of October 3, 1863 (drafted by Secretary of State William H. Seward). Kennedy's are from his 1963 proclamation, and Reagan's from his 1981 and 1983 proclamations.

Short Thanksgiving Quotes

For a card, a chalkboard sign or the top of a menu. One line, easy to remember.

Gratitude turns an ordinary meal into a feast.
A thankful heart always has room for more.
Count the people, not the plates.
The best recipe starts with thank you.
Enough is a feast when you share it.
Joy grows where thanks is spoken.
Grateful hearts make the longest tables.
Thankfulness is the one dish that never runs out.
Small blessings, counted slowly.
A home is warmest when it is full of thanks.
Say grace, then say it again with your actions.
Gratitude is the gravy of life.
Harvest the good, share the rest.
The table is full because the hearts are.

Thanksgiving Quotes About Family

For the family dinner, a group photo or a note to relatives who live far away.

Family is the reason the table has leaves you only pull out once a year.
The chairs may change and the faces may grow older, but the love at this table stays the same.
A family that gives thanks together learns to forgive together.
We are not a perfect family. We are a thankful one, and that is better.
Every family recipe is really a love letter from someone who cooked it first.
Home is not a place on a map. It is the people who save you a seat.
The loudest room in the house is usually the happiest one on Thanksgiving.
Our family tree has deep roots, strong branches and a lot of pie.
The gift of family is that you are loved before you have done anything to earn it.
Thanksgiving is when the family story gets told one more time, with a few new chapters.

When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before.
John Greenleaf Whittier
Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,
From North and South, come the pilgrim and guest.
John Greenleaf Whittier

Thanksgiving Quotes About Friends and Friendsgiving

For the friends who became family, and the Friendsgiving table you share with them.

Friends are the family we get to choose, and the ones we thank again every November.
A true friend shows up with a dish, stays to wash the dishes and leaves with leftovers.
Good friends make any meal a celebration and any table a home.
The best part of Friendsgiving is realizing how many people are on your side.
Gratitude grows fastest in the company of old friends.
A friend who remembers your favorite side dish is a friend worth keeping.
We did not share a childhood, but we share this table, and I am thankful for that.
Friendship is the harvest of every kind word you ever planted.

Inspirational Thanksgiving Quotes

For a speech, a teacher's board or a quiet moment before the meal.

Gratitude does not change what you have. It changes how much it means to you.
A thankful person is not someone who has everything, but someone who sees everything they have.
The harvest always begins with a seed of hope planted in a hard season.
When you count your blessings, you stop counting what you lack.
Gratitude is a habit. Practice it on Thanksgiving, and keep it the other 364 days.
Every hard year still holds a few moments worth giving thanks for.
The more you give thanks, the more you notice what deserves it.
A grateful heart is a magnet for peace.
Thanksgiving is a reminder that what we already have is often what we once prayed for.
You cannot always choose what you receive, but you can always choose to be thankful.

Funny Thanksgiving Quotes

For the group chat, the kids' table and the relative who always tells the same joke.

After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations.Oscar Wilde
The observance of Thanksgiving Day, as a function, has become general of late years. The Thankfulness is not so general.Mark Twain
My diet has a strict Thanksgiving exception clause.
The turkey is thankful for exactly one thing: that this only happens once a year.
Thanksgiving is the only day when a nap counts as a family activity.
I am thankful for stretchy pants and relatives who do not ask about my love life.
Grandma asked who wanted seconds. My stomach said no. My fork said yes.
Calories do not count on Thanksgiving. That is basic holiday science.
The secret to a happy Thanksgiving is sitting near the pie and far from politics.
I came for the gratitude. I stayed for the stuffing.

Thanksgiving-day, I fear,
If one the solemn truth must touch,
Is celebrated, not so much
To thank the Lord for blessings o'er,
As for the sake of getting more!
Will Carleton

Thanksgiving Bible Verses and Blessing Quotes

For saying grace, a church bulletin or a faith-filled card. Verses are from the King James Version.

O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.Psalm 107:1
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.Psalm 100:4
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.Psalm 95:2
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.Psalm 118:24
I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.Psalm 9:1
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.James 1:17
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.Philippians 4:6
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.Ephesians 5:20
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.Colossians 3:15
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.Colossians 4:2
O Lord, that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!William Shakespeare
For the food on our plates and the faith in our hearts, we give thanks.
Bless the hands that prepared this meal and the hearts that gathered to share it.

Lord, for the erring thought
Not into evil wrought:
Lord, for the wicked will
Betrayed and baffled still:
For the heart from itself kept,
Our thanksgiving accept.
William Dean Howells

Thanksgiving Quotes About the Harvest and the Table

For a harvest-themed post, a centerpiece card or a fall table setting.

Every harvest is a thank-you note from the earth.
A shared table is the oldest way people have said thank you.
The bread tastes better when you know who baked it.
Autumn gives its harvest freely. The least we can do is give thanks.
The fields did the work all year. Tonight we honor it.

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
And let these altars, wreathed with flowers
And piled with fruits, awake again
Thanksgivings for the golden hours,
The early and the latter rain!
John Greenleaf Whittier

Thanksgiving Quotes About Giving Back

For volunteers, food drive posters and anyone who spends the day serving others.

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.Kahlil Gibran
The best way to say thank you for a full plate is to help fill someone else's.
Gratitude that stays in your heart is a feeling. Gratitude that reaches your hands is a gift.
This Thanksgiving, set one more place, pack one more box, make one more call.
A thankful life is measured by what it passes on.
Serve the meal before you eat it, and it will taste better than any feast.

How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday

The American tradition is usually traced to the 1621 harvest feast at Plymouth, where the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people ate together for several days. For the Wampanoag and many Native communities, the day also carries a harder history, and many families now mark both sides of it.

George Washington issued the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789 and set the day for Thursday, November 26, the same date Thanksgiving falls on in 2026. It was not yet a yearly national holiday.

That changed in 1863, when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Day of Thanksgiving for the last Thursday of November, in the middle of the Civil War. Writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale had campaigned for years for a national day, and presidents have issued a proclamation every year since.

In 1941, Congress fixed the date as the fourth Thursday of November, which is why it moves between November 22 and 28. Today families mark it with a big meal, a moment of grace or thanks around the table, parades, football and, for many, a morning spent volunteering.

For more ways to say it, see our Thanksgiving messages for family, friends and coworkers, and our Thanksgiving captions for your photos.

When is Thanksgiving 2026?

Thanksgiving 2026 is on Thursday, November 26. In the US it is always the fourth Thursday of November.

What is a famous Thanksgiving quote?

One of the best known is Henry David Thoreau's 'I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.' Emerson's 'I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new' is another favorite.

What did Abraham Lincoln say about Thanksgiving?

In his 1863 proclamation, Lincoln wrote that the year had been 'filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies' and invited all Americans to observe the last Thursday of November as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise.

What is a good short Thanksgiving quote?

William Blake's 'The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest' is short and timeless. For an original line, try 'Gratitude turns an ordinary meal into a feast.'

What Bible verse is good for Thanksgiving?

Psalm 107:1, 'O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever,' is the classic choice. Psalm 100:4 and Colossians 3:15 also work well for saying grace.

What is a funny Thanksgiving quote?

Oscar Wilde's 'After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations' is perfect for a family table. It comes from his play A Woman of No Importance.

Who made Thanksgiving a national holiday?

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Day of Thanksgiving in 1863, after years of campaigning by Sarah Josepha Hale. Congress fixed it on the fourth Thursday of November in 1941.