What is Thanksgiving? Here’s Why We Celebrate Thanksgiving

Here’s Why Americans Celebrate Thanksgiving! Find out when it became a national holiday, why it’s on a Thursday and more.

Annual traditions and Thanksgiving festivities seem to explode once the holiday season arrives. Every holiday has its own set of family gatherings, and Thanksgiving is no exception. Despite the fact that this holiday is so ubiquitous in American households, and we grow up expecting the turkey, great sides (not to mention desserts! ), food comas, and football naps, many of us may be puzzled by the genesis tale of this beloved holiday.

So, exactly what is Thanksgiving? When did we begin honouring Thanksgiving? Why is Thanksgiving celebrated on a Thursday? We have the solutions to all of these and more!

We learn in school that Thanksgiving is associated with a feast between Pilgrims and Native Americans, as well as crafts such as the activity of tracing our hand prints to produce artful, genuinely iconic turkey pictures for fun Thanksgiving crafts. However, there is extra history surrounding this festival that is rarely taught or acknowledged. Are you familiar with Sarah Josepha Hale, as the “Mother of Thanksgiving“? You’re going to become one! Do you recall which president attempted to change the date of Thanksgiving? Continue reading!

We have all of the answers to your queries!

What exactly is Thanksgiving?

It is an American holiday observed on the fourth Thursday of November each year.

Why do we have Thanksgiving?

It is widely recognised as a way to honour the harvest supper shared by the colonial Pilgrims in 1621 with Wampanoag Indians (who “were vital to the survival of the colonists during the first year they arrived in 1620”). (although there is controversy about whether or not the meal was originally intended to be shared).

Over time, marking thanksgiving feasts “on an annual or infrequent basis” became common practise in other New England colonies as well.

When was the first Thanksgiving observed?

In addition to the inaugural meal in 1621, Pilgrims hosted their second Thanksgiving in 1623 to commemorate the end of a protracted drought. In succeeding years, other feasts of thanksgiving were held for various reasons. However, the first officially designated Thanksgiving was held considerably later—in 1789. According to the National Archives, Congress requested a national day of thanksgiving from President George Washington. As a result, Thursday, November 26, 1789, was named the “Day of Publick Thanksgivin.”

What is the significance of Thanksgiving?

It is all about counting one’s blessings and expressing thanks. After all, President George Washington stated the purpose of the Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789: “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me ‘to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging the providence of Almighty

How did Thanksgiving come to be a yearly national holiday?

We may all appreciate Sarah Josepha Hale, the “Mother of Thanksgiving,” for her successful efforts in establishing Thanksgiving as an annual national holiday. For years, Hale was the editor of the magazine Godey’s Lady Book, and he frequently wrote about this already-popular (but unofficial) autumn tradition. She also lobbied state and federal officials to establish a “fixed, national day of thanks on the last Thursday of November.”

When was Thanksgiving declared a national holiday?

Even after the first Thanksgiving was established in 1789, the dates and months of successive Thanksgivings changed. It took nearly a century for a single date to be established. On September 28, 1863, Sarah Josepha Hale wrote to President Abraham Lincoln, requesting that the last Thursday in November be declared a national day of Thanksgiving. On October 3, President Lincoln responded by declaring that this would indeed be the case. He explained that “in the midst of an unprecedented magnitude and severity civil war, the American people should take some time for gratitude.”

These annual celebrations lasted in this manner until 1939. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) stated in August that Thanksgiving would be celebrated a week early, stating that “merchants would benefit from another reason for shopping between Labor Day and Christmas.” This sparked some debate over the next few years, with nearly half of the country divided between the two dates. FDR eventually reversed his decision in December 1941, signing a congressional resolution declaring that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November from then on.

Why is Thanksgiving celebrated on a Thursday?

It’s An American Holiday, an American History author Diana Karter Appelbaum writes: “At first, no particular day of the week was reserved for Thanksgiving, but some days were thought more appropriate than others.” Puritans observed the Sabbath as a biblical commandment and did not interfere with it during their Thanksgiving celebrations. These were not practical options because Saturday was occupied with Sabbath preparations and Monday was the day after. Friday was ruled out because it was the Catholic Church’s fast day, and any day of prayer held on a Friday would have had Rome-esque overtones.

In Boston, however, Thursday was a lecture day. Ministers delivered afternoon sermons to those who had the time to attend weekday religious services. Perhaps it is for this reason that Thursday has become a popular day for fasts and Thanksgivings. Although other days were chosen on occasion, Thursday became the standard.”

What is the significance of eating turkey on Thanksgiving?

There are several reasons why we eat turkey on Thanksgiving. First, the Pilgrim Hall Museum cited letters written by William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth in 1621, who stated that wild turkeys were part of the original meal shared by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians.

Also, as Thanksgiving became a more popular holiday, turkeys remained plentiful, making them an easy main meal. Not only that, but we can thank Sarah Josepha Hale for establishing this aspect of Thanksgiving. She described a New England Thanksgiving in great detail in her 1827 novel Northwood, including a roasted turkey “placed at the head of the table.”

Do Native Americans observe Thanksgiving?

Long before the Pilgrims arrived, Native Americans had harvest feasts. When it comes to modern Thanksgivings, some tribes (such as many in the Sioux Nation) may meet to give gratitude for food and life, while others will avoid commemorating this day as a time of celebration. After all, only 16 years after the Native Americans and Pilgrims shared a meal, over 500 Wampanoags were slain in a terrible act of vengeance for the murder of one of the settlers, whom the other settlers assumed was killed by the Wampanoags. And the atrocities did not stop there.

According to History.com, by the late 19th century, “fewer than 238,000 indigenous people remained, a sharp decline from the estimated 5 million to 15 million living in North America when Columbus arrived in 1492.” Facts like these help to explain why many Indigenous Americans observe the National Day of Mourning on the same day as Thanksgiving.

What is the meaning of the National Day of Mourning?

NationalToday.com reports that “Native Americans in New England assemble to protest on National Day of Mourning every year. Thanksgiving serves as a reminder to them of the inequitable treatment of Native Americans since the 1620 Plymouth landing.” Since 1970, this celebration (hosted by the United American Indians of New England and attended by numerous non-native allies) has taken place in Plymouth, Massachusetts. “Native speakers are invited to offer these talks on the history, as well as present problems their people have surmounted,” during the day.