The History of Thanksgiving
Given that I was born and raised in Germany I have always looked at our American Holidays with curiosity and respect. Now that I have kids myself I do my best to instill into my 2 little guys a beginning sense of respect for such Holidays as Thanksgiving by telling them stories about why we celebrate this as a Holiday and what it really means. I did, of course, do "my history homework" and brushed up on some of the numbers and dates to not spread common wisdom half-truth and to make sure that my boys get a good idea of where, when, and what it was that made Thanksgiving the special Holiday my family - and most other American families - loves so much.
The traditional Thanksgiving is a combination of religious and harvest celebrations. The Pilgrim Feast of 1621 is generally what we think of when we think of the very first Thanksgiving. The pilgrims just had a really good harvest after a very difficult winter. To celebrate, the pilgrims called for a huge feast! In addition to the pilgrims, 90-some Native Americans attended. They all probably had to sit and eat outside at a huge table. The celebration lasted 3 full days, and included games, races, and other activities. Plus, of course, loads of food! Though nobody's really sure if they actually ate turkey back then, we know that they did have venison and some type of fowl. And even though they couldn't eat pumpkin pie (because of a flour shortage), they did have boiled pumpkin. They also had berries, seafood, and fruits.
But that feast wasn't repeated every year. And it wasn't until 1777 that all 13 colonies had a Thanksgiving celebration together. Nowadays most people credit Sarah Josepha Hale with making Thanksgiving an annual and national event. Sarah was an influential magazine editor who wrote lots of letters (and I mean thousands) and articles about why America should make Thanksgiving a regular, national holiday. Finally on October 3, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln agreed and in the midst of the civial war he created the Proclamation of Thanksgiving where he set the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. Other presidents followed Lincoln’s example. But, in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the date from the fourth to the third Thursday of November to accommodate the wishes of business merchants, who were eager for more shopping time before Christmas. This caused so much opposition that in 1941, a Congressional Joint Resolution again made Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday of November and it was finally a national, legal Holiday. For interested people who wish to dig in even deeper, The History Channel has a really well prepared and fun section on the History of Thanksgiving.
Many different countries all over the World celebrate a holiday like Thanksgiving. Whenever it is, it's a great time to be really thankful for all of your friends, and family, and the life we have! Have fun and a Happy Holiday!