As you enjoy the turkey and trimmings, learn a little about the history, some of it tragic, of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a cherished American tradition, but it’s also evolved over the centuries.
It’s an autumnal ritual that dates back to the earliest days of America, when neighbors gathered to enjoy a feast and celebrate the harvest. It’s been a tradition in our country since the fall of 1621, when about 52 Puritans and 90 Wampanoag people feasted on deer, corn, shellfish, roasted meat, and sobaheg stew, which usually included a mixture of beans, corn, poultry, squash, nuts and clam juice.
They ate, played games, sang and danced for three days. Imagine doing the dishes after that meal!
It’s important to remember that that brief period of peace was followed by the decimation of the Wampanoag nation. There were 40,000 of them before the English arrived in the 17th century, but disease and war drastically reduced their number.
For many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning, not celebration. That is a side of the holiday that must not be forgotten. Go ahead, enjoy the day and the feast — but be aware of the tragic history connected to it.
President George Washington issued the nation’s first Thanksgiving Proclamation on Oct. 3, 1789, naming Nov. 26 as a day to give thanks.
“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor — and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee 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 signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.’
Washington issued this proclamation from New York City, our first capital. He asked people to express their appreciation for “the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty” that had followed the Revolutionary War.
He also urged people to be aware of the “civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.”
The Father of Our Country also asked God “to pardon our national and other transgressions” and for the fledgling United States of America be led by “a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed …”
He urged us to remain good and faithful neighbors in the world community and to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue — and to value and expand scientific knowledge.
Exactly 74 years later, on Oct. 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation that was intended to comfort a country torn apart by the bloody Civil War.
Lincoln set the date as “observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving.”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed that to the third Thursday of the month in 1939 in an attempt to boost Christmas shopping by adding a week. This was not popular with all Americans, as 16 of the 48 states declared their intentions to keep observing the final Thursday of November as Thanksgiving.
For three years, people could take their choice on what day to cook the turkey. But in 1941, Congress passed legislation to set Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of the month. FDR signed the bill on Dec. 26, 1941, and Thanksgiving was firmly established.
This year, it falls late on the calendar, arriving on Nov. 28. Winter is fast approaching and the days are growing colder and darker.
That’s even more of a reason to sit closely together around a table, to pack a living room with loved ones, to fill a home with good smells and wonderful memories.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states for four decades. He has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Do not republish without permission.
Photo: 1915 greeting card, public domain, wikimedia commons
