The Story of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a universal, instantly recognizable iconic symbol of Americanism.
The occasion is a joyous annual holiday, a secular celebration that transcends all religious connotations in its spirit of gratitude for all that is good in our lives, marked by the traditional meal of turkey and accompaniments, the gathering of the clans, the shutting down of public institutions, the football games, the grand city parades and processions led by Macy’s.
In this avatar of modern-day Thanksgiving, the origins, the history and meaning of the holiday are more often than not, lost in the mists of memory.
Though not named Thanksgiving then, the first harvest feast celebrated in 1621 by the Pilgrims of the Plymouth colony along with the Wampanoag Indians, is popularly recognized as the precursor. The Pilgrims had suffered through a devastating winter in which nearly half their number died. Without the help of the Indians, all would have perished. www.history.com
Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and prayer. The outdoor meal, consisted of corn, geese, turkeys, ducks, eel, clams, leeks, plums, cod, bass, barley, venison and corn bread. The 3-day-long celebration is believed to have occurred in late autumn.
This is remembered as the "First Thanksgiving in Plymouth."
In 1623, the drought-struck colonists offered proclamations of prayer and fasting for relief. This ushered in another thanksgiving celebration when rains arrived during the prayers. Governor Bradford proclaimed November 29 as a time for pilgrims to gather and "listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings."
Throughout American history, there were many different thanksgiving proclamations. In 1789 George Washington proclaimed a National Thanksgiving Day on the last Thursday in November, in honor of the new United States Constitution. Thomas Jefferson, the third president, later discontinued it, calling it "a kingly practice."
In 1863, Sarah Josepha Hale, writer of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," lobbied with Abraham Lincoln to proclaim Thanksgiving a national holiday, suggesting the last Thursday in November, Washington's original date. In 1941, it was officially changed to the fourth Thursday in November.
It has been a tradition for presidents to make annual Thanksgiving proclamations. One of George W. Bush's proclamations came just two months after the September 11 tragedy. He stated that in thankfulness and humility, we acknowledge, especially now, our dependence on One greater than ourselves.
All of the early Thanksgiving celebrations had one thing in common. The thanksgiving was directed toward God and concentrated on church services and prayer.
From the second half of the 1600s, the custom of an annual Thanksgiving, combining prayer and celebrating abundance and family spread across America, celebrated on different days in different communities, some offering more than one thanksgiving each year.
Many nations follow the custom of some form of harvest celebrations and offering of gratitude for its abundance so essential to life.
Thanksgiving is an enduring symbol of "Americanism." While not all Native Peoples celebrate the day, the story of the Pilgrims and Wampanoag sharing a harvest celebration remains an inspiration to many.
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