A Quick History of Thanksgiving

A Quick History of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving also known as the harvest festival holidays began as the day of giving thanks for the harvest and of the previous year. It’s one of the national holidays celebrated on different dates in different parts of the country such as Liberia, the United States, Saint Lucia, Canada and Grenada. Although it’s considered to be a cultural and religious form of celebration, it is as well celebrated as a secular holiday by different people. This article will dig deeper into the history of Thanksgiving to help the reader acquire more information about the national holiday.

The real first Thanksgiving

A painting of the first thanksgiving by Jean Leon Gerome-Wikimedia

The first real Thanksgiving took place in 1621 when the Pilgrims shared a three-day meal with the Wampanoag to symbolize the bountiful harvest. Edward Winslow a Pilgrim chronicler wrote a letter describing the feast and later on Alexander Young a Boston publisher printed a book containing a letter by Edward in 1841. However, in the letter Winslow did not describe the event to be Thanksgiving as Alexander had published it to be the “first Thanksgiving”, but he described it as an event of prayers and fasting because the relationship between the Pilgrim and the Wampanoag was not well.

Thanksgiving in Canada and the United States

A thanksgiving dinner by Ms Jones-Wikimedia

There is no specific convincing narrative on the origin of Thanksgiving in Canada however, it is traced back to 1578 when the first thanksgiving happened in North America. It is also traced back to the French settlers who celebrated their successful harvest in the 17^th Century. In 1859 a declaration by the government of Canada was made that all Canadians should spend the holiday in public and solemn in recognition of God’s mercies. On October 9^th 1879 the governor of Canada Marquis of Lorne declared November 6 as the day of general Thanksgiving for the good harvest the Canadians had received. On 31^st January 1957, the Canadian parliament applied the same language for the current holiday which is a day of general thanksgiving to almighty God for the good harvest Canada had received and it was to be observed on the second Monday in October.

Thanksgiving in the United States had not been given a specific date from the time of the founding fathers until the time of Lincoln who proclaimed Modern Thanksgiving on the final Thursday in November for all states in 1863. On October 31^st 1939 Thanksgiving was changed to the next last Thursday in November by Franklin D. Roosevelt. This was done to improve the economy. Then on December 26^th 1941, Franklin changed the national holiday dates to the fourth Thursday in November and this was to effectively start in 1942.

Thanksgiving traditions and rituals

One of the major Thanksgiving traditions and rituals include cooking and sharing plenty of meals with family and friends. Turkey has always been considered the staple thanksgiving meal by the people who celebrate Thanksgiving but it was not a thing back then when the Pilgrims hosted the inaugural feast. Other foods that are eaten during Thanksgiving include mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, staffing and cranberry sauce. Since 1924, parades featuring performers, giant balloons shaped like cartoons, marching bands and floats conveying different celebrities have been a part of the Thanksgiving holiday. New York City’s Thanksgiving parade has been considered to be one of the largest parades since it attracts around 2 to 3 million viewers along its 2.5-mile route and an enormous television audience. Volunteering is also considered a tradition at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is in the English tradition

A table set for thanksgiving by Danielhall-Wikimedia

There were 95 church holidays plus 52 Sundays before 1536 and people were required to attend all of them and leave their various jobs. Later on, the number of holidays in the liturgical calendar was reduced to 27 by the church of England. The holidays that were removed were to be replaced by specially called Days of fasting and Days of Thanksgiving, in response to unexpected disasters such as plagues, threats of judgement, floods and drought which were accounted for in Days of fasting. It is from this that Thanksgiving began following the failure of the Gunpowder Plot. Thanksgiving and special thanksgiving religious services continued to be celebrated during the English reformation in the reign of Henry VIII.

Games at the Thanksgiving festivals

Since the league’s opening in 1920, NFL games have been a tradition to play on the Thanksgiving holiday with six games playing at the first session. In 2006 a third prime-time game was added and they included the cowboys and lions who played in their Thanksgiving home games. Richard took the NFL football games to another level by purchasing the Portsmouth Spartans and moving the team to Detroit. Thanksgiving games are aired on the 94-station network. Every year after World War II the Lions have hosted games. The cowboys have also hosted Thanksgiving games and they truly enjoy their winnings each Thanksgiving, unlike the Lions. As long as Dallas would host the game every year the team leader of the Cowboy team Tex Schramm was willing to volunteer his team to play during Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving becoming a national holiday

A picture of a Thanksgiving turkey by Brian Schatz-Wikimedia

George Washington called upon all Americans to show appreciation for the happy end of the country’s war of independence by issuing the first Thanksgiving by the order of the national government of the United States in 1789. In 1827, Sarah Josepha Hale a young magazine editor and writer launched a campaign to declare Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Abraham Lincoln persuaded Americans to recognize the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving at the start of 1863. Later on, in 1870, Congress followed suit by passing a legislation making Thanksgiving alongside Christmas day and Independence Day a national holiday.

 Modern Day Thanksgiving

Many people have come to enjoy this holiday and thus make the most out of it. Families usually gather and make meals that people enjoy eating as they bond together. For instance, thanksgiving in New Mexico will be characterized by southwest flavours that are full of chilies and in the northern states, one will expect a turkey that is stuffed with wild rice. Therefore, the holiday has been crucial in ensuring that families and friends spend time together and bond.