What You Need to Know About Thanksgiving
It’s officially November—the month that is full of wondrous feasts! Though, we will bet that lots of you will say this month is the season of preparation for Thanksgiving, because we really do spend weeks planning out for the food-filled festive! Such details include the hearty Thanksgiving menu, a possible Friendsgiving for those that love a little of get-together and the festive Thanksgiving outfit!
Thanksgiving may fall later or earlier in the month, and so knowing how much time you’ll have before the big day of feast is really essential.
America’s Thanksgiving Day, born in the year 1500, mythologized in 1621, then observed during the bleakest times of Civil War, but, now stands being one of the beloved and the most anticipated days of the nation— celebrated yearly on the 4th Thursday in November. Perhaps there is no other nonsectarian day has more tradition. Friends, food, football and family have come to represent Thanksgiving — an unusual celebratory holiday with no established gift-giving factor. Instead, the day urged everyone to be grateful about the things they have.
Why is Thanksgiving always on the 4th Thursday of November?
Yearly, Thanksgiving falls every 4th Thursday of November. But, Thanksgiving happened to be celebrated during every last Thursday of November. In the year 1863, during a Civil War, Pres. Abraham Lincoln gave this Thanksgiving proclamation and then asked for the Americans to set away the last Thursday every November as the day of thanksgiving. Afterward, it became the standard to hold this holiday.
However, in the year 1930, there were 2 years when Thanksgiving dropped on the 5th Thursday of November. The business owners protest to Pres. F.D. Roosevelt that this might hurt retailers since there was lesser time to buy for the Christmas. In remedy of this, the Congress passed a 1941 law that officially made the 4th Thursday of each November as Thanksgiving Day.
Why is Thanksgiving Day always on Thursday?
Surprisingly, this custom dates back to the Puritan times. During colonies, Thanksgivings were periodically held to give thanks to the “blessings”. It says that the Holiday at the Spirit of the American Experiences, oftentimes Thanksgiving these days fell on Thursdays. Fridays are avoided since it was one day of fasting for the Catholic Church—Puritans probably wish to avoid praying over one day holy to the Catholics. And Saturdays were not an alternative as they spent a day preparing for a Sabbath—which will also left Sunday outside the question.
But confidently for you, this Thursday holiday will mean you instead take the rare 4-day weekend! Right after all, a day after Friday is the ideal time to be cozy and catch Thanksgiving events you probably missed.
History of Thanksgiving
Evidence showed that the Spanish settlers and explorers held their thanksgiving services through the late 1500 in what is known now as New Mexico and Florida. Thanksgivings also happened in what turned to be the Virginia Commonwealth during the early 1607, with the primary permanent settlement of the Jamestown holding the Thanksgiving in the year 1610.
The ‘First’ Ever Thanksgiving
It was not until after a decade later where the Plymouth settlers, called as Pilgrims, came in this New World. They observed at the Plymouth for 3 days after the first harvest in the year 1621. The get together included fifty people who had been at the Mayflower and ninety Native Americans. The festival had been cooked by the 4 adult Pilgrim women that survived the first winter during the New World, together with some other servants and their young daughters.
Revolutionary Times
During this war time, the Continental Congress chose one or more of the thanksgiving days yearly, each time suggesting to the officials of the different states the celebration of these days at their states. The leader of revolutionary forces, George Washington, proclaimed Thanksgiving days in December 1777 being a victory celebration giving honor to the defeat of British at Saratoga.
This Continental-Confederation Congress is a legislative body which governed the USA from 1774-1789, issued some “national prayer, thanksgiving and humiliation days.” This would eventually mark itself in the founding of American observances of the National and Thanksgiving Day of Prayer.
In the year 1789, Congressman Elias Boudinot of New Jersey suggested that the Senate and the House jointly ask Pres. Washington to proclaim one day for thanksgiving for “the numerous signal favors of the Almighty God.” Washington created the first ever U.S. government-mandated for Thanksgiving Day.
Civil War Time
President Lincoln proclaimed the national day of Thanksgiving in the year 1863, to be noted on November 26 — final Thursday of for this month. William H. Seward, Secretary of State wrote the decree that read:
“I do invite my citizens in every portion of the USA and also with those whom are at sea and to those that were sojourning in the foreign lands, and to set apart then observe the final Thursday of November, then, as the Thanksgiving and Praise day to our beneficent Mighty Father who dwell in Heavens.”
The future presidents followed the annual example of Lincoln declaring the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving. However, in the year 1939, Pres. Franklin Roosevelt declared November’s 4th Thursday as Thanksgiving instead of the 5th one. FDR thought the earlier Thanksgiving might give merchants a long period to sell the goods before Christmas — then help take the state out of Depression. The 1942 law — makes the 4th Thursday as the federal holiday — had stood ever since then.
