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Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November (which became the uniform date country-wide in 1941). [2] [3] Outside the United States, it is sometimes called American Thanksgiving to distinguish it from the Canadian holiday of the same name and related celebrations in other regions.
By 1855, 16 states celebrated Thanksgiving (14 on the fourth Thursday of November, and two on the third). President Lincoln's first proclaimed days in April, October and November. However, it was not until 1863 that Abraham Lincoln established the regular tradition of observing days of national thanksgiving. [6] [20] [21] [22]
The Thanksgiving holiday's history in North America is rooted in English traditions dating from the Protestant Reformation. It also has aspects of a harvest festival , even though the harvest in New England occurs well before the late-November date on which the modern Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated.
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln finally declared Thanksgiving an official U.S. holiday, an act he saw as a step toward reuniting the fractured country after the Civil War. He put it on the ...
Author and editor Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded President Abraham Lincoln to proclaim Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. This is a Nov. 26, 1996 photo of a painting of Sarah Josepha Hale ...
At the height of the Civil War, Lincoln issued a proclamation to urge Americans to celebrate their blessings. Thanksgiving has been a tradition since. 'The blessing of fruitful fields and ...
In support of the proposed national holiday, Hale wrote presidents Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln. Her initial letters failed to persuade, but the letter she wrote to Lincoln convinced him to support legislation establishing a national holiday of Thanksgiving in 1863. [33]
Most Americans take Thanksgiving for granted, but this important holiday has undergone numerous changes throughout the years before arriving at its present form. Today we celebrate Turkey Day each