November 26 - Thanksgiving Day is Officially Established by FDR

This Day in History: 26 November 2020

 

26 November 1941

 

79 years ago, today, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill that officially declared the fourth Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving Day. The tradition of celebrating the holiday on Thursday dates back to the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, when a famous Thanksgiving observance occurred in 1621. Plymouth governor William Bradford had invited local members of the Wampanoag tribe to join the Pilgrims in a festival held in gratitude for the bounty of the season. Throughout the 17^th century, this became an annual custom in New England. However, it was not until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to officially fall on the last Thursday of November, that the modern holiday was celebrated nationally.

 

With a few exceptions, Lincoln's action was followed annually by every subsequent president, until 1939. In this year, Franklin D. Roosevelt departed from tradition by declaring November 23 as Thanksgiving Day, the next to last Thursday. Controversy surrounded this deviation, and some Americans even refused to honour this declaration. Over the next two years, Roosevelt repeated the unpopular proclamation. However, on this day, he admitted his mistake and signed a bill into law that officially cemented the fourth Thursday of November as the national holiday of Thanksgiving.

 

Want to find out more about the history of Thanksgiving Day? Click here for more information, or here for more about Roosevelt's declaration. 

Thanksgiving (with a quiz!)

Today is Thanksgiving in the USA, and President Obama has marked it by traditionally "pardoning" a turkey (called Apple) and handing out food supplies at a local Washington charity. The day's origins come from 1621, when the surviving pilgrims from the Mayflower, half of whom had died during the winter from exposure or disease, shared a celebratory feast with the local Wampanoag tribe to acknowledge the successful harvest of their corn. The pilgrims had survived partly due to the help of Squanto, a Native American who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery before escaping to London and then back to America. He spoke perfect English and advised the pilgrims how to cultivate their crops and find food in the local environment.

The thanksgiving story caught the imagination of other settlers, and by the time of the Revolution most states held a day of thanksgiving, albeit on different dates. In 1827, Sarah Josepha Hale (also author of the Nursery Rhyme "Mary had a little lamb" organised a campaign for a national holiday, and in 1863 Abraham Lincoln granted her request at the height of the Civil War, scheduling it for the last Thursday in November.

Thanksgiving remains the most traditional and family-orientated of America's holidays, one separated from any religious affiliations so that it can be enjoyed by all...except the turkeys.

PS: Here is a thanksgiving quiz from the BBC, and a more difficult version...