Today is a special day in America. It’s when we celebrate one of our oldest traditions.
Tom Turkey on the run!
Although history is a tad fuzzy, we generally recognize the year 1621 as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.
It’s when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest meal.
Granted, their meal looked nothing like what we traditionally have today … their dinner included lobster, seal and swans … but the point is they gathered over a meal in gratitude for what they had.
Actually the Plymouth colonists barely survived that first year after landing in 1620. It was in the spring of 1621 that they were befriended by Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe. He taught them how to cultivate corn and other food, and he helped them form an alliance with the Wampanoag.
Anyway, after 1621 there were similar celebrations each fall throughout the colonies and eventually by the individual states as they formed.
But it wasn’t until 1863 that it became “official.”
President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day for November. He designated the last Thursday in November as the national day of thanksgiving.
Then in 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt shifted it to the fourth Thursday of November. This was at the request of retailer associations who wanted to start the holiday shopping season earlier – one week earlier to be exact.
Enough on history for now. My best to you and all my readers and subscribers for a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy today and the entire 4-day weekend (at least I hope it’s a 4-day holiday weekend for you too). And thanks for all your support.
