Thanksgiving is celebrated as a legal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. It is a time to express one's thanks for good fortune throughout the year.
The first big Thanksgiving celebration, however, is said to have taken place in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims and Indians feasted for three days to celebrate their rich harvest after suffering a severe winter following the Pilgrims' long, harsh journey to America on the Mayflower. The first Thanksgiving Proclamation was issued on June 20, 1676.
In 1789, George Washington proclaimed November 26th as Thanksgiving Day in honor of the adoption of the United States Constitution.
Through the efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of Godey's Lady's Magazine in Boston, Thanksgiving became a national holiday observed on the same day every year. She proposed the fourth Thursday of November because November 26th, the day George Washington had originally selected, had been the fourth Thursday. In 1863, President Lincoln acted on Hale's suggestion and proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day.
Thanksgiving has, since 1863, been celebrated on that day-with a few exceptions. In 1865, President Andrew Johnson changed Thanksgiving to the first Thursday in December. In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant selected the third Thursday in November. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt set November 23rd as Thanksgiving Day. In 1941, he proclaimed the fourth Thursday as Thanksgiving in all the states and U.S. possessions. We have continued to celebrate Thanksgiving on this day ever since.
Thanksgiving Day is associated with certain symbols and foods. Turkey is part of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Cranberries are also part of the dinner, probably because the Pilgrims had cranberries, which they found in bogs around Plymouth. The horn of plenty, or the "cornucopia," is a familiar Thanksgiving symbol. It is a symbol of earth's bounty, and reminds us how much of our food comes from the earth. Michael J. Eddleman
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