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Thanksgiving at Plymouth, oil on canvas by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, 1925 National Museum of Women in the Arts. 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).
The National Thanksgiving Proclamation was the first presidential proclamation of Thanksgiving in the United States. At the request of Congress, President George Washington declared Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. [ 1 ]
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory of Norfolk Island .
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.
To end the confusion, Congress passed a joint resolution, signed by Roosevelt on Dec. 26, 1941, that established Thanksgiving as a federal holiday held on the fourth Thursday of November.
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.
Two American presidents had a hand in shaping our Thanksgiving celebrations: Abraham Lincoln established the holiday. Franklin Roosevelt set the current date. Franklin Roosevelt set the current date.
Holidays proclaimed in this way may be considered a U.S. "national observance", but it would be improper to refer to them as "federal holidays". Many of these observances designated by Congress are authorized under permanent law under Title 36, U.S. Code , in which cases the President is under obligation to issue an annual proclamation.