Although latter-day cynics might conclude that Thanksgiving was set on Thursday in order to wangle a four- day weekend, little evidence supports that. In fact, we don’t know what day of the week the Plymouth Colony’s first Thanksgiving was celebrated. But we do know that Plymouth’s first Thanksgiving was held in mid-October, 1621, the Plymouth General Court declared that November 25th be declared an annual day of Thanksgiving. The proclamation lasted all of five years. Most New England colonies held their own Thanksgivings on either Wednesday or Thursday , probably to distance the holidays from the Sabbath. Colonists were, appropriately enough, puritanical about intruding on the Sabbath in any way, so not only was Sunday ruled out, but so were the day of preparation (Saturday) and the day after (Monday). Friday was a fast of the Catholic church, and the Puritans wanted to connect in or identify with Catholic practices. Thursday was known in Boston and a few other northeastern towns as “lecture day,” when ministers gave religious lectures in the afternoon. Since some citizens were already taking time away from their work to attend these meetings, perhaps “lecture day” was the reason Thursday beat out Wednesday as the popular choice for Thanksgiving. The first national Thanksgiving celebrated the American victory over the British at Saratoga in 1777. Samuel Adams prevailed upon the Continental Congress to declare a day of thanksgiving. But several colonies continued to celebrate their local versions as well. George Washington issued the first presidential proclamation of Thanksgiving, designating Thursday, November 26, 1798, as the day of celebrations. With the exception of John Adams’ attempt at a Wednesday Thanksgiving on May 9, 1798, all national Thanksgiving days since 1798 have been celebrated on Thursday. But no uniform date was selected for Thanksgiving until Abraham Lincoln declared that starting in 1863, the last Thursday in November would be the nations day. His proclamation was motivated not only by the Unions victory in the Civil War but the pressure exerted b y the passionate editorials or women’s magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale, who relentlessly promoted the issue for over 35 years. Lincoln never stated why he chose Thursday, but presumably he was following the tradition of the Puritans, and , later, George Washington. For some reason, presidents haven’t been able to stop tinkering with the day of Thanksgiving. Andrew Johnson experimented with the first Thursday of December, 1865, as a new date. Johnson relented and returned to Lincoln’s last Thursday in November the next year, But he was impeached anyway. Ulysses S. Grant preferred the third Thursday in November, 1869. Seventy years later, Franklin Delano Roosevelt pulled a U.S. Grant and proclaimed Thursday, November 23, rather than November 30 as Thanksgiving Day. But traditions were too settled by then. Many states observed Thanksgiving on the last Thursday anyway. FDR realized he was wagering a useless and meaningless fight and cooperated with Congress when it passed a joint resolution placing Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. Ever since, not even Richard Nixon has tried to move it.
Submitted by Rick Dewitt of Erie, Pennsylvania |
