Since we are all so very anxious to get out of school and eat twice our weight in turkey, it is only necessary that there is one post on Thanksgiving! Using various sites, I have compiled a brief timeline (hence the title) of Thanksgiving. Here we go:
1890's to present - Thanksgiving became a part of education. Schools began to hold Thanksgiving pageants, sang songs, built cabins in memory of the pilgrims, and introduced many immigrant children to the tradition of a turkey.
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| The pilgrims serve food to the Native Americans. |
November 1621 - In honor of the pilgrims' first successful corn harvest, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast with the Wamponoag Native Americans, a local tribe. Much of this was thanks to an Indian named Squanto. Squanto helped the pilgrims get accustomed to their land and plant many crops. He even helped them forge an alliance with the Wamponoag.
The feast this year actually lasted three days total. We are not certain for sure that turkey was on the menu in 1621. However we do know that the Wamponoag arrived with five deer and are responsible for the many spices used that meal. Unfortunately, during this time there were no ovens or sugar so the classic dessert of pie was not present.
Originally, Thanksgiving was supposed to be a Puritan holiday, a "holy day" used for prayer and thanking God. Never was it an annual holiday but rather was held whenever the pilgrims came across an occasion necessary to celebrate.
1777 - George Washington made the first Thanksgiving proclamation. He called upon the American colonists to express gratitude for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
1817 - New York became the first of many states to adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday.
1827 - Sarah Josepha Hale, journalist and author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb", launched a campaign to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. She campaigned for the next thirty-six years until Abraham Lincoln took action.
1863 - Abraham Lincoln made a proclamation for Americans to ask God to help those involved in the Civil War and to express their gratitude for protection. Thanksgiving officially became a holiday on the final Thursday of November.
This year in particular, there were two Thanksgivings. One was held in November and the other was held August 6th to celebrate the victory at the Battle of Gettysburg.
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| The parade travels a 2.5 mile route through New York. (Also does that turkey scare anyone?) |
1924 - New York's Thanksgiving Day Parade, hosted by Macy's, was established. To this day, it is considered one of the largest and most famous parades with millions of viewers on television.
1934 - The NFL began a long-lasting Thanksgiving tradition. Every year, the Detroit Lions play on Thanksgiving. In 1966, Dallas also began to play on the holiday.
1939 - Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the Thanksgiving holiday ahead a week to "spur retail sales" during the Great Depression. This was nicknamed "Franksgiving."
1941 - Because many were very unhappy by "Franksgiving", the president signed a bill moving Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday in November.
1950's to present - Considering that ninety percent of Americans eat turkey, each year, the president pardons one to two turkeys. He sends these turkeys into retirement and spares them from being cooked (they must be so lonely). Americans have fun each year with naming these two thankful turkeys.
Hope y'all have a wonderful Thanksgiving day!
Sites I used:
http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving
http://www.plimoth.org/learn/MRL/read/thanksgiving-history
http://www.coolest-holiday-parties.com/thanksgiving-facts.html
http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1930s/first_thanksgiving.aspx
http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving
http://www.plimoth.org/learn/MRL/read/thanksgiving-history
http://www.coolest-holiday-parties.com/thanksgiving-facts.html
http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1930s/first_thanksgiving.aspx
Rebecca, thanks so much for this post on thanksgiving! I agree it was definitely necessary and I found it really interesting to learn about why certain traditions that I have come to know and love exist.
ReplyDeleteI did a little bit of research, and found that Canada also celebrates thanksgiving, but theirs is on the second Monday of October. The three day weekend gives people a chance to take a short vacation or celebrate how we traditionally do with a meal and some football.
Canadian thanksgiving has been an annual event since 1879, when refugees from the Civil War brought the tradition to Canada. However, it was celebrated on a different day every year and had different "themes" every year. After World War I, Armistice Day and Thanksgiving were celebrated on the Monday closest to November 11 to celebrate the annual end to the war. Then in 1931, Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day and Thanksgiving was officially moved to a Monday in October. It has been celebrated on the second Monday of November since 1957.
I had no idea other countries celebrated Thanksgiving, I guess we've just never learned about it in school. I was wondering if you guys knew if other countries have national holidays similar to Thanksgiving or if only the United States and Canada celebrate it?
I forgot to include the source I used! http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/thanksgiving-day
DeleteHey Rebecca, thank you for this really interesting post! While reading, I was curious about what the Native American equivalent of the event is or if there is one so I did a bit of research.
ReplyDeleteNew England Native Americans celebrate the National Day of Mourning the same day Thanksgiving is held every year. The participants, who believe that people have to be educated about the event that led to the forced migration and subordination of a whole culture of people, consider it as a reminder of the democide (murder by government) and ongoing suffering of the Natives. Another event that is similar to this is Unthanksgiving Day or the Indigenous Peoples Sunrise Ceremony held on Alcatraz island in the SF Bay. It is organized every year by the Int'l Indian Treaty Council and the American Indian Contemporary Arts to promote the right of the Natives and to pay tribute to the honor of those who died during the settlement and the Natives who are still living.
I think it's very important to look at both sides of the coin because while others are splurging and stuffing their faces on the day of the event, there are some who mourn the loss of their homes and are still looking for a way to combat the injustice the immigrants brought with them.
http://www.uaine.org/dom.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unthanksgiving_Day
Thanks Rebecca for a great post.
ReplyDeleteMost people celebrate holidays without understanding where it came from and why we celebrate it. The first Thanksgiving by popular knowledge was when the Pilgrims feasted for three days with the Indians. At that time, it was not a annual holiday but celebrated a day of thanks whenever the felt it was needed. For example, in 1623 when they were thankful for a late rain that saved their crops.
It became a holiday based in New England, and it became a custom. However, like Rebecca said, it only became a national holiday after proclamations by Presidents Washington and then Lincoln. And now has became a internationally known holiday that is easily connected to America.
And now here are some fun facts about Thanksgiving:
- In the US, about 280 million turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving celebrations.
- Each year, the average American eats somewhere between 16 - 18 pounds of turkey.
- Californians are the largest consumers of turkey in the United States.
- Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States.
- Although, Thanksgiving is widely considered an American holiday, it is also celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada.
- Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, where it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season.
http://www.apuritansmind.com/the-christian-walk/the-first-thanksgiving/
http://www.whsv.com/seasonal/misc/33852054.html