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The modern American Thanksgiving (not to be confused with the Canadian version held on the second Monday in October a date set in 1879) has its origins in two very old and very different holidays: the harvest home feast and the formal day of thanksgiving proclaimed by church or government authorities in gratitude for a particular event, such as a military victory. George Washington, the first president of the United States for example, proclaimed November 26 1789 a "day of Thanksgiving" to celebrate the new Constitution. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln set aside the last Thursday in November for a national celebration of Thanksgiving in an attempt to reunite the United States during the bloody Civil War. In his proclamation, he urged prayers to "implore the interposition of the almighty had to heal the wounds of the nations and to restore it...to full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and union." In 1941, Congress decreed that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November over the objections of many citizens. This resulted in a period where Thanksgiving was observed according to the political views of the citizen.
The Thanksgiving Americans now associate with our modern celebration began in Plymouth Colony in 1621, when the Pilgrims celebrated with three days of prayer and feasting to give thanks for their survival and a good first crop. Roast turkey ("Turkeys" were not mentioned by name in original accounts of the 1621 Plymouth Thanksgiving celebration. Wild turkeys would have lived in the surrounding area and may have been included in the fowl eaten at the meal however.), stuffing, cranberry sauce, vegetables, and pumpkin (roasted, not in pies) were among the dishes at the feast and became popular additions to today's modern feast because of their supposed connection to the Pilgrims.
The Pilgrims, members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect - Puritans wanted to purify the Church of England), were among the first European settlers to arrive in the New World now known as the United States. On September 16, 1620, some 100 passengers and crew set sail from Plymouth, England aboard the Mayflower. Their destination was Virginia in the New World. Although they encountered stormy weather and treacherous seas, this hearty group of men, women and children arrived in Provincetown, Massachusetts, on November 21, 1620 by our modern Gregorian calendar--it was November 11 to the Pilgrims who used the Julian calendar.
After a month of exploring for a suitable site, the pilgrims ultimately landed at Plymouth Rock December 11, 1620 and founded the Plymouth Colony two days before Christmas under the leadership of Governor William Bradford. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 people. The following harvest of 1621 was bountiful, however, and the colonists decided to celebrate with a traditional English harvest festival.
Thanksgiving Day
Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.
--WT Purkiser
The name pumpkin orginated from "pepon" – the Greek word for "large melon."
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