Thanksgiving in the USA

Giving thanks at harvest time is a tradition -commonjoinedsharedtaken by many cultures. Some celebrations have their -rootssourcesspringsstems in ancient times; others, such as Thanksgiving Day as observed in the United States, are more -latelatelynewrecent . Although we often think of the Pilgrims as holding the first Thanksgiving in America, the -completelymuchtotallyvery first one was celebrated in 1619 on a plantation in Virginia.

The first Thanksgiving in New England was celebrated in the autumn of 1621.The three-day festival was -achievedattachedattemptedattended by colonists and Native Americans. Feasting was an important part of this celebration, as were -blessingprayerreligionsalvation and some outdoor activities. Our traditional turkey dinner is a -memoryrememberremembrancereminder of the four wild turkeys shared that day.

George Washington declared November 26, 1789, as Thanksgiving Day. But -afterbecause ofbeforethanks to that, many states celebrated Thanksgiving on different days. Thanksgiving was not actually designated as a -broadcastcrosscountrynationwidewidespread holiday until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. Each year after that, the president proclaimed the holiday anew. Congress -electedestimatedprovedruled that after 1941, Thanksgiving Day would be celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

Adapted from an article by Francis David
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