Thanksgiving was an ancient harvest celebration. It is usually linked to the celebration by the Pilgrims in 1621 of their first successful harvest, thanks to local Native Americans. Nonetheless, there have been many “first” Thanksgivings in America’s history, including a French celebration (in 1564) and a Spanish celebration in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. The patriotic, family-centered holiday of today has its roots in the 19th Century, including during the Civil War. Congress finalized the date during World War II.
Early Thanksgivings
People from ancient times had harvest celebrations. They gave thanks for nature’s bounty while having a big feast. The harvest in North America took place sometime in the autumn.
European colonists also gave thanks to God after other important events, including a safe landing after a long journey. We now associate “Thanksgiving” with a special celebratory meal.
The French sought out a haven for the Huguenots, a French Protestant sect, in Florida. The day after establishing a settlement, the French celebrated a day of Thanksgiving. They gave thanks and enjoyed some food given to them by local Native Americans. It was June 30th, 1564.
The Spanish, on September 8, 1565, invited members of the local tribe to a dinner in St. Augustine, Florida, as part of a celebration of a safe arrival. The Spanish forced the French to leave, taking control of the area. Both Thanksgiving celebrations were one-time events.
English Settlement
Thanksgiving celebrations were already an English tradition when the British started permanent settlements on the Atlantic Coast in the early 1600s.
The Pilgrims
In 1620, the Mayflower sailed from England with religious dissenters on a long journey, a pilgrimage. The Pilgrims settled in Massachusetts, naming their new home “Plymouth.”
The Pilgrims had a brutal first winter. Luckily, the local Wampanoag tribe decided to help them, determining the presence of women and children meant the Pilgrims were peaceful.
The tribe sent two envoys, Samoset and Tisquantum, to negotiate a peace treaty. We can imagine how shocked the Pilgrims were when Samoset first came and spoke English.
Samoset had earlier learned English from some fishermen.
An English ship captain had also kidnapped some Native Americans, including Tisquantum (Squanto). Squanto spent some time in England, learning some English. He later came back home.
Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish, and avoid poisonous plants. The Natives’ hopes for peace would be somewhat short-lived.
The first successful corn harvest (1621) was celebrated with a three-day feast. Massoit, the Wampanoag chief, and other Natives were invited. Local foods, including wild turkeys and pumpkins, were on the menu. They did not have the butter, flour, and sugar for pies.
The Pilgrims might not have called it “Thanksgiving,” but it was a time of thanksgiving. We also do not know the exact date. It took place sometime between September and November.
Thanksgiving Holiday
Pilgrims held a second Thanksgiving in 1623 to mark the end of a drought. New England colonies regularly celebrated days of thanksgiving. It was not, however, a specific holiday.
During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress designated multiple days of thanksgiving. Presidents Washington and Adams also started a tradition of official presidential Thanksgiving proclamations, providing thanks to God.
President Jefferson refused on separation of church and state grounds.
Different states began to celebrate official Thanksgiving holidays. There was not a single national holiday. Sarah Josepha Hale (author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”), a magazine editor and writer, promoted the idea. President Lincoln proclaimed it a national holiday in 1863.
An American Holiday
Hale conceived of the holiday as a patriotic, family-centered holiday.
The origins of New England, including the Puritans and Pilgrims, began to be celebrated as key moments of our glorious past. The accounts of Governor William Bradford, the first governor of Plymouth, were first published in the early 19th Century.
Modern-day holiday traditions were born. Thanksgiving became a central part of American culture. Children learned about the Pilgrims in school. Food, parades, and football became annual traditions. Immigrants learned Thanksgiving was an essential part of being an American.
Fourth Thursday In November
President Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. Thursday was a good day because it gave people time to make a big feast, and it was over before the Sabbath.
The late November date was also both at the end of the harvest season and not too late to clash with the Christmas season. Problems arose when the last Thursday fell on November 30, 1939. President Roosevelt feared that Thanksgiving would clash with the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. It was the Great Depression. Merchants needed the business.
Roosevelt declared Thanksgiving to be on the second-to-last Thursday. People were upset. They had Thanksgiving on the same day for 75 years! It was an American tradition.
Congress settled the controversy. Thanksgiving was officially set on the fourth Thursday of November starting in 1942. You can mark your calendars.
Pardoning Turkeys
The Thanksgiving tradition of the president pardoning two turkeys is a symbolic practice. A likely untrue story arose that President Lincoln was the first to pardon a turkey.
Over the years, different groups, including poultry farmers, sent turkeys as gifts to the White House. Presidents began to send the turkeys to farms. They were unofficially “pardoned.”
President George Bush might have been the first to “pardon” a turkey, which began a new tradition. You can pardon me for thinking the whole thing rather silly.