A History Of Thanksgiving Celebrations

The Transformation Of Thanksgiving Traditions

American children spend their early school years learning about the first Thanksgiving meal shared by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag. The settlers had reason to celebrate; it was their first real harvest, and they wanted to share it with the native people who helped make it possible.

The festival was a three day celebration which included hunting, harvesting, fishing, games, and lots of food to celebrate the fall harvest. Today, we look at our preparations for Thanksgiving as an arduous task. But imagine the work it took to put a meal on the table in November 1621!

During what Americans refer to as The First Thanksgiving, a feast of venison, duck, geese, corn, barley, and perhaps cranberries and nuts would have been served. Although wild turkey was hunted in those days, no mention is made of turkey in any documentation regarding this celebration. Perhaps this harvest meal didn't fall during the season most likely to provide turkey for the table. We do know that duck and geese were plentiful. Foods we think of as staples today, like squash and potatoes, hadn't made their way to New England in time for the first feast. As a matter of fact, many dishes we think of as traditional today wouldn't find their way to a Thanksgiving table until almost 200 years later.

The first Thanksgiving harvest celebration of 1621 didn't spark subsequent holidays each year. It wasn't until 1789 when President George Washington declared the first national Thanksgiving holiday that America had the excuse to feast again in this harvest tradition. However, this declaration also did not repeat each year. So, again, the Thanksgiving tradition was forgotten for a while.

Then in 1827, author Sara Josepha Hale started a campaign to establish a yearly national Thanksgiving holiday, inspired in part by a written diary of pilgrim life. This effort took almost thirty years to complete, in which time the author spent time promoting her campaign by publishing many of her favorite recipes, including pumpkin pie, turkey, and stuffing. Now you can see how the Thanksgiving table we know today got its start. Thank you, Miss Hale!

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared the Thanksgiving holiday be celebrated each year on the final Thursday of November, and so it was, until 1939, during the Great Depression. In an effort to give retailers more time to make money during the holiday shopping season, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the Thanksgiving holiday up a week earlier. Americans were not happy with the idea of their beloved
Thanksgiving turning into a money-making enterprise, so the President bowed to the people and in 1941 he signed a bill setting Thanksgiving firmly, and forever, on the 4th Thursday in November each and every year.
As you can see, Thanksgiving was a tradition that took hundreds of years to become established.

Throughout those years, America changed. Today's table may not resemble the table set by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag in Plymouth that Autumn day. But the spirit of the holiday remains the same – being thankful for those around you who share the burden and the pleasure of reaching a common goal. Happy Thanksgiving!