Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am thankful we have a holiday to express our gratitude and appreciation to God, family and friends for all we have.

Did you know that the first thanksgiving in the new world was celebrated in 1621 and lasted three days? I wonder if they had to stay until all the leftovers were gone. Here are a few more interesting historical tidbits. In colonial times it was customary to celebrate days of thanksgiving after fall harvests, but it wasn’t done at the same time until October 1777. Twelve years later, in 1789, President George Washington declared it a national holiday. I don’t know why it took so long. Did you know Thanksgiving it was declared a national holiday two more times? Interestingly, both occurred during times of war.

The second time was by President Abraham Lincoln. While some states already observed the holiday, he was looking for ways to unite the nation during the Civil War and, with his Thanksgiving Proclamation, declared the last Thursday in November a day of Thanksgiving. That was in 1863. All was well until FDR sought to move it to the third Thursday in November to lengthen the Christmas shopping season during WWII.  No one had Twitter in those days, but word got out and controversy ensued. Congress rallied, GO CONGRESS!, and passed a joint resolution on December 26, 1941, decreeing that Thanksgiving should fall on the 4th Thursday. There it remains to this day.

Happy Thanksgiving!