Origin Of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving History

The origin of Thanksgiving goes back further then what our school books have taught us. Historians have recorded many ceremonies of thanksgiving history among European settlers in North America.

One of the earliest included British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic.

This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record. This is the origin of Thanksgiving. The legacy of thanks, and particularly of the feast, have survived the centuries as people throughout the United States gather family, friends, and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving meal.

The Pilgrims we know from our history books left Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620. Their destination was "The New World". Although filled with uncertainty it offered both civil and religious liberty.
For over two months, the 102 passengers braved the harsh elements of the Atlantic ocean. Finally, with firm purpose and a reliance on Divine Providence, the cry of "Land!" was heard.
Arriving in Massachusetts in late November, the Pilgrims sought a suitable landing place on Cape Cod. On December 11, just before disembarking at Plymouth Rock, they signed the "Mayflower Compact" America's first document of civil government and the first to introduce self-government.

After a prayer service, the Pilgrims began building hasty shelters. They were unprepared for the starvation and sickness of a harsh New England winter, nearly half died before spring. Yet, persevering in prayer, and assisted by helpful Indians, they reaped a large harvest the following summer.
The grateful Pilgrims then declared a three-day feast, starting on December 13, 1621, to thank God and to celebrate with the Indians.

The First American Thanksgiving

In 1789, following a proclamation issued by President George Washington, America celebrated its first Day of Thanksgiving to God under its new constitution. That same year, the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which President Washington was a member, announced that the first Thursday in November would become its regular day for giving thanks, "unless another day be appointed by the civil authorities."

The Thanksgiving Date

Much of the credit for the adoption of the national Thanksgiving Day may be attributed to Mrs. Sarah Joseph Hale, the editor of Godey's Lady's Book. For thirty years, she promoted the idea of a national Thanksgiving Day. She contacted President after President until President Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside the last Thursday of November as a national Day of Thanksgiving. Over the next seventy-five years, Presidents followed Lincoln's decree, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day. Then, in 1941, Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday of each November as the Thanksgiving date and a national holiday.

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Football Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.

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