Thanksgiving DayThanksgiving Day in the United States is an annual day of thanks for the blessing of the past year, observed on the fourth Thursday of November in each of the states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. It is a historical, national, and religious holiday that began with the first pilgrims, after the survival of the first colony through the bitter winter. After the gathering of the harvest, Gov. William Bradford of Plymouth colony issued a thanksgiving proclamation in the autumn of 1621. This first thanksgiving lasted three days, during which the pilgrims feasted on wild turkey and venison with their Indian guest. Days of thanksgiving were celebrated sporadically until on November 26, 1789, president Washington issued a proclamation of a nation- wide day of thanksgiving. He made it clear that the day would be a day of prayer and giving thanks to GOD. It was to be celebrated by all religious denominations, a circumstance that helper to promote a spirit of common heritage. Credit for establishing this day as a national holiday is given to Sarah J. Hale, editor and founder of the ladies magazine (from 1826) in Boston. Her letters to president Lincoln urging the formal establishment of a national holiday of thanksgiving resulted in Lincoln's proclamation of 1863, designating the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. In 1939 president Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed that Thanksgiving Day would be the fourth Thursday in November, to encourage holiday shopping, in 1941 congress adopted a joint resolution sitting the fourth Thursday of November to be the correct Date. A traditional Thanksgiving dinner takes place in most American homes where dress turkey and pumpkin pie is served. An ancient harvest symbol, the cornucopia, or Horn of plenty has been attached to Thanksgiving.
(1)The Encyclopedia Americana International Edition |