Every year on the fourth Thursday of November, the North American continent observes Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday. The purpose of the day is to honor the harvest season and other gifts from the previous year.
Recommended to read: What Do They Do On Thanksgiving Day In USA?
History of Thanksgiving Day 2024
One of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies is recognized today as the fall harvest feast that the Wampanoag Native Americans and Plymouth colonists enjoyed in 1621. In 1623, Pilgrims celebrated their second Thanksgiving in response to Governor Bradford's request for a religious fast and the end of a protracted drought that had jeopardized the crop that year. In other New England towns, yearly or sporadic Thanksgiving and fasting days also became customary.
Individual colonies and states observed Thanksgiving for almost 200 years. President Abraham Lincoln did not declare a national Thanksgiving Day until 1863, during the Civil War, and it was observed on the last Thursday of November until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an effort to boost retail sales during the Great Depression. Despite the resistance to Roosevelt's proposal, which was mockingly dubbed "Franksgiving," the president grudgingly signed a bill in 1941 that moved Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday in November.
New York was the first of numerous states to formally declare Thanksgiving a yearly holiday in 1817; nonetheless, each state observed the feast on a separate day, and the American South was still mostly ignorant of the custom.
Thanksgiving Day celebrations by US presidents
The first Thanksgiving proclamation issued by the US government was issued by George Washington in 1789. During their administrations, his successors James Madison and John Adams also established days of gratitude. Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Abraham Lincoln all done the same.
Thanksgiving Day's mother
Known as the "mother of Thanksgiving Day," Sarah Josepha Hale was a well-known author and editor. Hale, the creator of the children's song "Mary Had a Little Lamb," started an effort to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1827. She urged governors, senators, presidents, and other officials to observe Thanksgiving Day as a holiday via a series of articles and letters she wrote over 36 years. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln at last gave in to her desire.
Thanksgiving Day events
Thanksgiving has evolved into a largely secular event, despite its possible religious origins. For the majority of Americans, the Thanksgiving is a time to get together and show gratitude via football, food, and family. In many Thanksgiving ceremonies, participants write down their blessings and then read them aloud from the paper.
New York City also commemorates the day with the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which draws a huge television viewership and between two and three million people along its 2.5-mile course. Marching bands, entertainers, ornate floats portraying different celebrities, and enormous balloons in the style of cartoon characters are usually included.
Food for Thanksgiving Day
Turkey is now practically a byword for the holiday. Nearly 90% of Americans consume the bird on Thanksgiving Day, whether it is baked, roasted, or deep-fried, according to the National Turkey Federation. Pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and stuffing are among other typical dishes.
Turkey pardoning ceremony
Every year since the early mid-1900s, the president of the United States has "pardoned" one or two Thanksgiving turkeys, saving them from being killed and rehabilitated on a farm.
Other nations where Thanksgiving Day is observed
Liberia celebrates Thanksgiving on the first Thursday in November, whereas Canada has its own Thanksgiving Day on the second Monday in October.
Black Friday bargain
Black Friday marks the start of the winter holiday shopping season, which lasts for a month following Thanksgiving.
Willow Stella
Every year on the fourth Thursday of November, the North American continent observes Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday. The purpose of the day is to honor the harvest season and other gifts from the previous year.
Recommended to read: What Do They Do On Thanksgiving Day In USA?
History of Thanksgiving Day 2024
One of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies is recognized today as the fall harvest feast that the Wampanoag Native Americans and Plymouth colonists enjoyed in 1621. In 1623, Pilgrims celebrated their second Thanksgiving in response to Governor Bradford's request for a religious fast and the end of a protracted drought that had jeopardized the crop that year. In other New England towns, yearly or sporadic Thanksgiving and fasting days also became customary.
Individual colonies and states observed Thanksgiving for almost 200 years. President Abraham Lincoln did not declare a national Thanksgiving Day until 1863, during the Civil War, and it was observed on the last Thursday of November until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an effort to boost retail sales during the Great Depression. Despite the resistance to Roosevelt's proposal, which was mockingly dubbed "Franksgiving," the president grudgingly signed a bill in 1941 that moved Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday in November.
New York was the first of numerous states to formally declare Thanksgiving a yearly holiday in 1817; nonetheless, each state observed the feast on a separate day, and the American South was still mostly ignorant of the custom.
Thanksgiving Day celebrations by US presidents
The first Thanksgiving proclamation issued by the US government was issued by George Washington in 1789. During their administrations, his successors James Madison and John Adams also established days of gratitude. Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Abraham Lincoln all done the same.
Thanksgiving Day's mother
Known as the "mother of Thanksgiving Day," Sarah Josepha Hale was a well-known author and editor. Hale, the creator of the children's song "Mary Had a Little Lamb," started an effort to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1827. She urged governors, senators, presidents, and other officials to observe Thanksgiving Day as a holiday via a series of articles and letters she wrote over 36 years. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln at last gave in to her desire.
Thanksgiving Day events
Thanksgiving has evolved into a largely secular event, despite its possible religious origins. For the majority of Americans, the Thanksgiving is a time to get together and show gratitude via football, food, and family. In many Thanksgiving ceremonies, participants write down their blessings and then read them aloud from the paper.
New York City also commemorates the day with the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which draws a huge television viewership and between two and three million people along its 2.5-mile course. Marching bands, entertainers, ornate floats portraying different celebrities, and enormous balloons in the style of cartoon characters are usually included.
Food for Thanksgiving Day
Turkey is now practically a byword for the holiday. Nearly 90% of Americans consume the bird on Thanksgiving Day, whether it is baked, roasted, or deep-fried, according to the National Turkey Federation. Pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and stuffing are among other typical dishes.
Turkey pardoning ceremony
Every year since the early mid-1900s, the president of the United States has "pardoned" one or two Thanksgiving turkeys, saving them from being killed and rehabilitated on a farm.
Other nations where Thanksgiving Day is observed
Liberia celebrates Thanksgiving on the first Thursday in November, whereas Canada has its own Thanksgiving Day on the second Monday in October.
Black Friday bargain
Black Friday marks the start of the winter holiday shopping season, which lasts for a month following Thanksgiving.