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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.
When did Thanksgiving become a national holiday? More than 160 years after the 1621 feast, President George Washington declared Nov. 26, 1789, as a day of prayer and thanksgiving.
The first Thanksgiving started after the New England colonists survived a harsh winter after landing on Plymouth Rock. Although the Mayflower landed on Plymouth Rock in November of 1620, the first ...
Myth: The “first Thanksgiving” started the tradition that founded the holiday. Truth: The harvest celebration of 1621 was not called Thanksgiving and was not repeated every year.
[17] [18] [19] The practice of holding an annual thanksgiving harvest festival did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s. [20] Thanksgiving proclamations were made mostly by church leaders in New England up until 1682, and then by both state and church leaders until after the American Revolution. During the ...
Several presidents opposed days of national thanksgiving, with Thomas Jefferson openly denouncing such a proclamation. [19] That was seen as ironic because Jefferson had proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving while he was the governor of Virginia. By 1855, 16 states celebrated Thanksgiving (14 on the fourth Thursday of November, and two on the third).
While this tradition of Thanksgiving dates back over 400 years, the holiday did not become official until the mid-1800s, and the date was not solidified until almost 100 years after that.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy started his Thanksgiving proclamation with the words "Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and in Massachusetts, far from home in a lonely wilderness, set aside a time of thanksgiving," but did not identify the Massachusetts "time of thanksgiving" with the 1621 event. [25]