Happy Thanksgiving–November 28, 2024
Thursday is Thanksgiving Day in America, a day to celebrate, to enjoy, to partake, and most of all, to be grateful for what we have and to be generous to those less fortunate.
The history of Thanksgiving in America is a blend of myth and tradition, rooted in historical events that reflect gratitude, community, and the complex relationships between Indigenous peoples and European settlers. The first Thanksgiving celebrations in North America actually predate the well-known Plymouth feast by at least 50 years. Spanish explorers in Florida held religious thanksgiving services as early as 1565. Similarly, settlers in Virginia held thanksgivings in 1610 to celebrate surviving harsh conditions. The commonly cited origin of Thanksgiving traces back to 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims, who were English settlers, celebrated a three-day harvest feast with the Wampanoag people. The Pilgrims, part of a religious separatist group, had arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 and endured a harsh winter. By the following autumn, with the assistance of the Wampanoag—especially Tisquantum (commonly known as Squanto)—they had learned agricultural techniques, such as planting corn and fishing. This event is considered one of the first peaceful exchanges between Indigenous peoples and European settlers, though it was not called Thanksgiving at the time.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, New England colonies celebrated various days of thanksgiving, often marked by religious observances and communal meals. These events were not tied to a specific date but declared by local governments or churches in response to good harvests, military victories, or other blessings. During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress declared several days of thanksgiving to celebrate military victories and express gratitude for the fledgling nation’s survival. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving Day to be observed on the last Thursday of November. This was influenced by the persistent efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, a writer and editor who campaigned for a unified national holiday. Lincoln’s proclamation framed Thanksgiving as a time for healing and gratitude during one of the nation’s most divisive periods. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the third Thursday of November to extend the holiday shopping season during the Great Depression. This was met with resistance, and in 1941, Congress officially set Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of November. A few decades later President John Kennedy introduced the “pardoning” of the turkey, which was eventually formalized by President George H. W. Bush in 1989.
Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated with large meals featuring turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. Football games, parades, and charitable activities also mark the holiday. Thanksgiving continues to evolve, serving as both a celebration of gratitude and an opportunity to reflect on the nation’s history and values, and has been enhanced in spirit and deed by those who volunteer with food drives and hosting free dinners for those less fortunate among us.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, from Stephen Hofer and the whole team here at Aerlex Law Group.