By Kelly Maue
Thanksgiving is a day to gather, give thanks, and of course – eat. We gobble up everything from turkey, gravy, and dressing to cranberries and pumpkin pie. In addition to feasting, other traditions may include football, the Macy’s Day parade, running in a Turkey Trot, online shopping, or simply relaxing in stretchy pants.
But the early history of the holiday is quite different. The “First Thanksgiving” occurred in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1621, when the colonists and Wampanoag people shared a 3-day feast. With some distinct variations from our standard menu today, they ate venison, wild fowl, shellfish, corn, and native plants like cranberries and nuts. Potatoes had yet to make their way to North America at that point.
Thanksgiving only became an actual holiday centuries later. In fact, during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, which began in 1801, he refused to recognize it as a holiday because he saw it as an unconstitutional mixing of church and state. It was President Abraham Lincoln who proclaimed it a holiday in 1863.
However, President Lincoln only deserves some of the credit. A woman named Sarah Joseph Hale was instrumental in creating the Thanksgiving holiday. Up until then, celebrations took place at different times in various communities throughout the year, but Hale believed everyone should celebrate Thanksgiving on the same date. As a writer, she made her case known in books and magazines and petitioned lawmakers until Lincoln made it official.
Thanksgiving was slowly gaining traction leading up to that time. By the early 1840s, the holiday grew in popularity beyond New England and across the states. In 1843, the governor of Missouri, Thomas Reynolds, made a proclamation and added Missouri to the list, establishing Missouri’s first Thanksgiving Day on December 3, 1843. However, it didn’t become an official state holiday until 1855. The years in between were inconsistent; sometimes Thanksgiving was observed, and sometimes it wasn’t, depending on who was governor.
The Thanksgiving holiday continued to gain popularity during the 40s and 50s. By 1859, all Eastern and Middle Atlantic states, the Western territories, and several Southern states celebrated Thanksgiving.
It’s not just an American holiday. Many cultures worldwide have harvest celebrations, including countries like Canada, South Korea, India and Ghana. The theme is always the same, though: give thanks.
This Thanksgiving, keep in mind what the day means. Let’s remember the gifts of life, liberty, family, friends, and abundance. It’s a time to reflect and be grateful.
