Thanksgiving is a major holiday in the United States, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
Originating as a harvest festival, Thanksgiving’s purpose is exactly what its name suggests
— to give thanks for the year’s harvest.
Thanksgiving is also a holiday that holds deep historical meaning that is unique to America.
Though first nationally declared only in 1789, its origins can be traced back to the 1600s.
So how was Thanksgiving conceived?
The origin of Thanksgiving is generally attributed to Plymouth Bay’s “First Thanksgiving”
in 1621.
In late 1620, an English ship called the Mayflower arrived in what is now Massachusetts, bearing
102 passengers.
Many of the passengers were Pilgrims, or Calvinist Protestants who wished to break away from
the Church of England.
In December of 1620 they founded the Plymouth Colony, but only about half of the colonists
survived the brutal winter which ensued.
The 53 survivors had barely set up their settlement when an Abenaki chief named Samoset walked
into their town on March 16, 1621.
Samoset knew limited English from previous contact with English traders, and introduced
to the Pilgrims two other local leaders: Massasoit of the Wampanoag and Squanto of the Patuxet.
Squanto could speak English because he had spent time in England as a slave, having returned
home as part of an English expedition.
On March 22, the Pilgrims and Massasoit forged a treaty ensuring peaceful relations and a
military alliance.
Squanto taught the colonists the method of using fish as fertilizers to grow corn.
With his help, the Pilgrims were able to celebrate their first successful harvest in late September
of 1621.
53 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans participated in this First Thanksgiving,
which lasted three days.
During this festival, the attendees feasted off local foods such as turkey, corn, fish
and deer.
It wasn’t until the June of 1623 that the Pilgrims held their first “official” Thanksgiving,
which was also the first time that the festival received government recognition.
This version of Thanksgiving consisted of a fast and solemn prayer giving thanks to
God for the rich harvest, brought forth by a 14-day-rain.
The Thanksgiving tradition spread to the rest of Massachusetts by 1631, and was celebrated
for the first time in Connecticut in 1639.
New Netherland, now New York, also observed Thanksgiving in 1644.
In 1777, both the Continental Congress and General George Washington nationally proclaimed
Thanksgivings to keep up American morale during the Revolutionary War.
The Continental Congress’ description of Thanksgiving in their proclamation was heavily religious.
October 3, 1789 was the first Thanksgiving officially designated by the government of
the United States, issued by President George Washington.
Thanksgiving had to be proclaimed by presidents, and they were not declared on a fixed date;
President Jefferson never even bothered with the holiday.
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln finally declared that Thanksgiving was to be set on
the last Thursday of November annually.
It was also the mid-to-late-19th century when the familiar Thanksgiving family dinner, with
staples such as turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes, was born.
A cookbook from 1887 describes a Thanksgiving menu not different from that of today.
As a side note, although turkey was not popularized until the mid-1800s, it had been endorsed
by Founding Fathers such as Alexander Hamilton, who declared that “no Citizen of the United
States should refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day.”
In 2015, the year of Hamilton, 85 million turkeys were eaten for Thanksgiving.
Anyway, after Lincoln’s proclamation, Thanksgiving continued to be celebrated annually on the
last Thursday of November… until FDR came along.
To help retailers affected by the Great Depression prior to the Christmas season, President Roosevelt
declared Thanksgiving to be the second-to-last Thursday of November in 1939.
This sudden change caused a lot of controversy, and 22 states celebrated Thanksgiving on the
last Thursday anyway.
As a compromise, in 1941, Congress fixed Thanksgiving Day as the fourth Thursday of November.
This act also made Thanksgiving a federal holiday.
Thanksgiving today is mostly known for its family dinner tradition, which is carried
out by 85% of Americans.
Some of the religious still give thanks to God on this holiday, even with just a simple
prayer prior to the dinner.
Others, like the Salvation Army, see Thanksgiving as an opportunity for charity.
Still others consider Thanksgiving a day for solemn remembrance for one of the few instances of
peace and cooperation between Europeans and Native Americans.
While you enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner tonight, maybe the meaning behind that feast is something
to think about.
Regardless, have a Happy Thanksgiving, and as always, thanks for watching.