In America the first ever Thanksgiving Day was celebrated by the Mayflower colonists in 1621. It was an acknowledgement of God's provisions during the year.
When these pioneering Mayflower colonists first settled in Massachusetts the previous December, they'd faced starvation. However friendly Native Americans had shown them how to grow corn and squash and to catch the local birds, fish and shellfish. One Indian in particular, Squanto has been especially helpful as he just happened to speak fluent English. He'd picked up the pilgrim fathers' language after being carried off by visiting sailors and working as a house servant in the city of London before returning to rescue the ill-equipped, confused Pilgrims. These colonists went on to invite the Indians to a thanksgiving feast to celebrate their first successful harvest.
The main dishes at the first Thanksgiving are believed to have included cranberries, eel, geese, lobster, oysters, squash and…yep, pumpkin pie! When the Native Americans showed up, they brought venison.
There weren't any turkeys at the first thanksgiving. Turkeys were then just wild birds that were difficult to catch and didn't yield much meat.
In Colonial times, "Thanksgiving" was a separate religious holiday that involved prayer rather than merry-making. What the Pilgrims staged was a "harvest festival," one common throughout Europe at this time of year.
A day of thanksgiving was observed in England for General Wolfe's capture of Quebec and the defeat of the French at the Battle of Minden in North Germany in the midst of concerns regarding the French navy's plans to invade England and Scotland. John Wesley wrote in his journal,
"On 29th November 1759, I believed the oldest man in England has not seen a Thanksgiving Day so observed before. It had the solemnity of the General Fast. All the ships were shut up, the people in the streets appeared, one and all with an air of seriousness, the prayers, lessons and whole public service were admirably suited to the occasion. The prayer for our enemies in particular was extremely striking. Perhaps it is the first instance of the kind in Europe. There was no noise, hurry, bonfires, fireworks in the evening and no public diversions. This is indeed a Christian holiday, a 'rejoicing unto the Lord'. The next day came the news that Sir Edward Hawke had dispersed the French Fleet."
Wesley was referring to the British admiral Sir Edward Hawke defeating the French in the battle of Quiberon Bay and breaking the power of the French fleet thus preventing any possibility of invasion.
When George Washington was elected the first President of America, he announced the first national Thanksgiving Day, held on November 26, 1789. "Both Houses of Congress", he proclaimed, "have requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God especially by affording him an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
President John Adams declared Thanksgivings in 1798 and 1799, but convinced of the need to keep church and state separate, Thomas Jefferson believed unwaveringly in the freedom of people from government coercion in religious matters. Jefferson refused to issue a Thanksgiving proclamation and gave an injunction that there should be a wall of separation between church and state.
When these pioneering Mayflower colonists first settled in Massachusetts the previous December, they'd faced starvation. However friendly Native Americans had shown them how to grow corn and squash and to catch the local birds, fish and shellfish. One Indian in particular, Squanto has been especially helpful as he just happened to speak fluent English. He'd picked up the pilgrim fathers' language after being carried off by visiting sailors and working as a house servant in the city of London before returning to rescue the ill-equipped, confused Pilgrims. These colonists went on to invite the Indians to a thanksgiving feast to celebrate their first successful harvest.
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| The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, oil on canvas by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (1914) |
The main dishes at the first Thanksgiving are believed to have included cranberries, eel, geese, lobster, oysters, squash and…yep, pumpkin pie! When the Native Americans showed up, they brought venison.
There weren't any turkeys at the first thanksgiving. Turkeys were then just wild birds that were difficult to catch and didn't yield much meat.
 |
| The First Thanksgiving 1621, oil on canvas by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1899) |
In Colonial times, "Thanksgiving" was a separate religious holiday that involved prayer rather than merry-making. What the Pilgrims staged was a "harvest festival," one common throughout Europe at this time of year.
A day of thanksgiving was observed in England for General Wolfe's capture of Quebec and the defeat of the French at the Battle of Minden in North Germany in the midst of concerns regarding the French navy's plans to invade England and Scotland. John Wesley wrote in his journal,
"On 29th November 1759, I believed the oldest man in England has not seen a Thanksgiving Day so observed before. It had the solemnity of the General Fast. All the ships were shut up, the people in the streets appeared, one and all with an air of seriousness, the prayers, lessons and whole public service were admirably suited to the occasion. The prayer for our enemies in particular was extremely striking. Perhaps it is the first instance of the kind in Europe. There was no noise, hurry, bonfires, fireworks in the evening and no public diversions. This is indeed a Christian holiday, a 'rejoicing unto the Lord'. The next day came the news that Sir Edward Hawke had dispersed the French Fleet."
Wesley was referring to the British admiral Sir Edward Hawke defeating the French in the battle of Quiberon Bay and breaking the power of the French fleet thus preventing any possibility of invasion.
When George Washington was elected the first President of America, he announced the first national Thanksgiving Day, held on November 26, 1789. "Both Houses of Congress", he proclaimed, "have requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God especially by affording him an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
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| George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation |
President John Adams declared Thanksgivings in 1798 and 1799, but convinced of the need to keep church and state separate, Thomas Jefferson believed unwaveringly in the freedom of people from government coercion in religious matters. Jefferson refused to issue a Thanksgiving proclamation and gave an injunction that there should be a wall of separation between church and state.
James Madison renewed the tradition in 1814, in response to resolutions of Congress, at the close of the War of 1812.
Thanksgiving was held sporadically in America until 1863 when Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb", suggested making Thanksgiving a more widely acknowledged holiday than it was in an effort to keep the nation from dividing over the issue of slavery. She persuaded Abraham Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving as an annual holiday on the last Thursday in November.
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| 1863 letter from Hale to Lincoln discussing Thanksgiving |
In 1930 America was reeling under the effects of the Great Depression, and the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism protested against the annual Thanksgiving claiming that in a country where thousands are without work, there could be no reason for thanksgiving. However millions ignored the protest and gathered in their homes to give praise and gratitude to God for his blessing upon their lives.
In 1939, President Franklin D Roosevelt proclaimed the next-to-last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving (rather than the last Thursday) as a way to extend the Christmas shopping season and spur economic growth. Roosevelt's opponents said the new date was disrespectful to Lincoln and called it Franksgiving. He was later forced to rescind that under pressure from Congress and the public.
Since 1947, it has been traditional for the US President to “pardon” a turkey before Thanksgiving and save it from the feast.
Thanksgiving is colloquially known as "Turkey Day." In fact, 45 million turkeys were consumed on Thanksgiving Day alone in 2022. The National Turkey Federation (NTF) estimates that Americans spent an average of $24.99 on a Thanksgiving turkey in 2022, bringing the total spending to over $1.12 billion..
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| Flickr |
The dark meat of a Thanksgiving turkey offers a greater density of nutrients, like B vitamins and iron, than white meat.
The Turkey Drop is when a freshman college student comes home for Thanksgiving and is unceremoniously dumped by his high school girlfriend or boyfriend.
Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving and the most profitable shopping day of the year – got its name from the old accounting practice of using red ink for debt and black ink for profit.
Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October.
According to Yahoo! Shine, the average American eats between 3,000 to 5,000 calories at their Thanksgiving dinner. It turns out the item that does the most damage to your waistline is pecan pie. Each piece is said to be worth 503 calories.
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| Wikipedia |
Source Daily Express
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