History of Thanksgiving and How it Has Changed

          Alina Page, Victoria MacMillan, Michaela Kane

Waking up to the smell of savory spices circulating the air, downstairs the Thanksgiving feast is in preparation. With the turkey slowly cooking to perfection in the oven, and the tablecloths being arranged just right on the tables, family is to arrive in only a short few hours. The television is on, the faint background sound of the Macy’s Day Parade, everyone on this day is joyful. It’s a day to rejoice and give thanks, to be loved and to give.

When we think of Thanksgiving, we think back to the time when the Pilgrims and Native Americans came together to have a feast after their first harvest in the New World in 1621. This feast lasted for three days and it was attended by ninety Native Americans and fifty-three Pilgrims. However, even before this day, people were worshiping God by having a feast, and these feasts were meant to remind them of His goodness and faithfulness, and to thank Him for a good year. Still, the name “Thanksgiving” did originate from the Pilgrims and Native people.

However, the peace between the Native Americans and settlers only lasted for a generation. The Wampanoag people do not share in the popular admiration for the traditional New England Thanksgiving. Since 1970, many native people have gathered at the statue of Massasoit in Plymouth, Massachusetts each Thanksgiving Day to remember their ancestors and the strength of the Wampanoag. Thereafter, in the 19th century, the modern Thanksgiving holiday started to take shape.

In 1863, a magazine editor named Sarah Hale wrote a letter to president Abraham Lincoln. The idea to make Thanksgiving a national holiday was part of Hale’s seventeen-year campaign. She thought it would benefit the country to have a national holiday for giving thanks, since the country was in the middle of the Civil War. After reading Hale’s letter, Lincoln declared two national Thanksgivings: one in August to commemorate the Battle of Gettysburg and the other in November to give thanks for "general blessings."

Today’s national Thanksgiving celebration is a blend of two traditions: the New England custom of rejoicing after a successful harvest, based on ancient English harvest festivals; and the Puritan Thanksgiving, a solemn religious observance combining prayer and feasting. Annual football games and shopping also play a big role in the celebration, and not just food shopping.

Just like Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer, Thanksgiving and Black Friday signify the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. It has been this way since 1924, when Macy's held its first Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. With Christmas right after Thanksgiving, Black Friday is a time where stores have huge deals for families to get all their holiday shopping done. Black Friday is slowly becoming part of Thanksgiving history, especially since it is now starting Thanksgiving night.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, be sure to remember the reason it all started.  Spend time with family, give thanks, and eat lots of turkey.  Thanksgiving is a time to recognize everything we are grateful for, so be sure to not forget the original meaning as you celebrate it this season.

Happy Thanksgiving

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