Nov. 23 is known as 勤労感謝の日 (kinrō kansha no hi, Labor Thanksgiving Day) in Japan, a day to pay respect to workers and each other. This day has also long been known for 新嘗祭 (niiname-sai), which celebrates the year’s harvest and offers newly reaped rice and crops to gods at the Imperial Palace and shrines across the country.

勤労感謝の日は労働に敬意を表し、お互いにねぎらいの言葉をかけ合う日です (Kinrō kansha no hi wa, rōdō ni keii o hyōshi, otagai ni negirai no kotoba o kakeau hi desu, Labor Thanksgiving Day is a day to show respect for labor and to exchange words of appreciation with one another).

The verb 労う (negirau, to show appreciation for) and its noun form 労い (negirai, appreciation) — both often written in hiragana: ねぎらう and ねぎらい — are keywords you’ll want to keep in mind on 勤労感謝の日.

日頃の頑張りを互いにねぎらいましょう。私は残業している部下をねぎらうために差し入れをします (Higoro no ganbari o tagai ni negiraimashō. Watashi wa zangyō shite-iru buka o negirau tame ni sashiire o shimasu, Let’s appreciate each other for all the hard work we give day after day. Personally, I bring in some refreshments to show appreciation for my subordinates working overtime).

The word ねぎらい connotes a sense of top-down communication, typically from 目上 (meue, superiors) to 目下 (meshita, junior) employees in the Japanese context. If you prefer a more neutral word, 労り (itawari, sympathy) can replace it. While the kanji 労 (rō) suggests labor and exhaustion, it also means to take care of, just like 労い and 労り. 疲れた体をいたわるのも仕事のうちだ (Tsukareta karada o itawaru nomo shigoto no uchi da, Looking after a tired body is also a part of work).

There’s no doubt everyone needs some heartfelt ねぎらいの言葉 (negirai no kotoba, words of appreciation) from time to time. A simple ありがとう (arigatō, thank you) works fine, but personalizing your thank yous isn’t so difficult. Try, 〜のおかげです (~no okage desu, It’s all thanks to~) when you want to mention someone’s help.

おかげで (Okage de, thanks to) and the more humble おかげさまで (okagesama de) are convenient and positive phrases that can be utilized beyond any social hierarchy. Note that おかげさまで usually doesn’t accompany reasoning components, though. For instance, おかげさまでプロジェクトがうまくいきました (Okagesama de purojekuto ga umaku ikimashita, The project went well thanks to you) doesn’t particularly address someone, but it implies that the speaker is thankful for everyone’s support. This can be paraphrased as 皆さんのおかげで成功しました (minasan no okage de seikō shimashita, It succeeded thanks to you all), but we can’t use 皆さんのおかげさまで.

While おかげで is helpful in mentioning people around us, it can also be used after a clause or an adjective: ティムが得意料理を作ってくれたおかげで、パーティは大盛況だった (Timu ga tokui ryōri o tsukutte kureta okage de, pātī wa daiseikyō datta, Thanks to Tim’s cooking of his signature dish, the party was a huge success) emphasizes appreciation for the special meal Tim cooked for us, and 背が高いおかげで満員電車でも苦しくない (Se ga takai okage de man’in densha demo kurushiku nai, Thanks to my height, I don’t feel stifled on crowded trains) shows the speaker’s own appreciation for their height.

深谷ねぎで有名な埼玉県深谷市では、11月23日を深谷ねぎらいの日として、小学生がねぎ束を作り家族に手紙と共に感謝の気持ちを伝えます (Fukaya negi de yūmeina saitama-ken fukaya-shi dewa, jūichi gatsu nijūsan nichi o fukaya negirai no hi to shite, shōgakusei ga negitaba o tsukuri kazoku ni tegami to tomo ni kansha no kimochi o tsutaemasu, Known for Fukaya green onions, Fukaya City in Saitama Prefecture celebrates Nov. 23 as Fukaya Negirai Day, where elementary school students make green onion bouquets to express gratitude along with letters for their families).

You might want to carefully consider who you give a green onion bouquet to, though. Luckily, a short thank-you letter never hurts. Some phrases you may want to use in your notes include, 毎日家族のために働いてくれてありがとう (Mainichi kazoku no tame ni hataraite kurete arigatō, Thank you for working hard for [our] family every day), いつも支えてくれてありがとう (Itsumo sasaete kurete arigatō, Thank you for supporting me always), and 感謝の気持ちでいっぱいです (Kansha no kimochi de ippai desu, I’m so thankful) are some good examples.

Speaking of thankfulness, TGI Fridays Japan is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary with a 特大感謝祭 (tokudai kanshasai, massive festival of gratitude) campaign amid the holiday season. Also, global confectionery company Lotte is promoting 労チョコ (ita choko) as a punny way to encourage compassionate communication at work by sharing 板チョコ (ita choko, chocolate bars).

However you celebrate Thanksgiving, here’s to your hard work in learning Japanese. いつもジャパンタイムズを読んでくれてありがとう！ (Itsumo japan taimuzu o yonde kurete arigatō!, Thank you always for reading The Japan Times!)