Giving Thanks, an American Tradition
November 26th, 2009 By Michael R. Dimock
What do the Pilgrims, George Washington, Sarah J. Hale, and Abraham Lincoln all have in common? Hint: they liked heritage breed turkeys. Yes, they all contributed to the formation of the national Thanksgiving Day holiday. We all know the pilgrim story. Some may not know that President Washington offered the first proclamation on November 26, 1789, declaring a national day of thanksgiving. It was not until November 1863, after the July battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, which sealed the fate of the south, that Lincoln renewed the tradition and declared the last Thursday of that month a day of thanks. Sarah J. Hale, a magazine editor, is credited with planting the idea in the weary leader’s head.
Each year from that time, with the exception of one year during the Great Depression, every president issued a similar proclamation on the same day. In 1941 the Congress formerly established the holiday we know today. So we have a long history of giving thanks, and I am grateful for that. It is an important social and civic act too little appreciated in our time. Read More