Beginnings
We all know the story. The Pilgrims, fresh from a sixty-six day crossing of the Atlantic and two hundred miles off course, landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was a harbor protected by the long arm of Cape Cod, stretching out into the sea. The arrived in September, too late to plant the crops they needed to survive the hard New England winter. So they suffered, surviving at the mercy of the local natives who helped provide them with food, and teach them how to gather the local plants, clams and lobsters.
Almost half of the 102 Pilgrims died in that first winter. But when spring arrived, they went to work, planting crops and building a more structured settlement. By the fall, they were prepared for the winter, and wanted to give thanks for the bounty of their harvest. They joined in celebration with the Native Americans who helped them survive that first long brutal winter. So it was in 1621 that the first “Thanksgiving” was celebrated in America, not just to give thanks to God, but to those Native Americans who helped them to survive.
National Holiday
That tradition lived on in the northern colonies. And days of Thanksgiving were proclaimed for other reasons. George Washington called for a national day of Thanksgiving after the ratification of the Constitution. Individual states had their own scheduled days of Thanksgiving, though it remained more of a regional than national tradition.
It wasn’t until 1827 that there was a movement for a “National Day of Thanksgiving”. Sarah Josepha Hale, a noted writer and magazine editor who authored “Mary had a little lamb”, began a thirty-six year campaign to convince the nation.
It took until 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, that she found a sympathetic ear with President Abraham Lincoln. He was searching for ways to keep the Union together. The War was a time of ultimate mutual sacrifice, as almost every American was directly impacted by the casualty lists from the battlefields.
And so Lincoln issued a proclamation, calling for a national “Day of Thanksgiving” on the last Thursday of November. The first “national” Thanksgiving was the week after Lincoln outlined the reasons for the Civil War in the Gettysburg Address. As he said, the nation fought so that “…a government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”. The holiday was another way he held the Union together while he worked to bring the Civil War to a successful conclusion. Even with the victories of Vicksburg and Gettysburg in the summer, that was still not a sure thing in November of 1863.
So Thanksgiving became a “National holiday”, ultimately in the South as well as the North. It was a celebration of thanks, but also of unity: a holiday we could all share, regardless of religion or race or region or creed.
Breaking Tradition
The great “tradition breaker” in American history was Franklin Roosevelt. He is the only President to ignore Washington’s precedent of serving no more than two terms as President (“Teach them how to say goodbye”). Roosevelt, elected at fifty years of age in 1932, was unwilling to leave as the country faced World War II in 1940, or while the War was still raging in 1945. And Roosevelt looked at other “traditions” as way to help the US economy, particularly during the 1930’s in the Great Depression.
Even in those stressed economic times, consumer buying went up significantly before Christmas. But the “Christmas Season” didn’t officially start until after Thanksgiving, the last Thursday in November, usually the last couple days of the month. The country knew exactly when that was: since 1924 the Macy’s Parade has been a wonderful commercial announcement of the beginning of Christmas. That’s why Santa Claus was at the end of the parade – time to start shopping.
Roosevelt wanted another week of consumerism, so he made one. He moved Thanksgiving up a week, to the third Thursday of November. While the nation accepted Roosevelt running for President for a third and even fourth term, they didn’t want him to “pack” the Supreme Court, and they definitely didn’t want him “messing” with Thanksgiving. In 1942, he bowed to public pressure and returned it to the fourth Thursday of November.
Thanksgiving Today
So here we are today, the day before Thanksgiving, 2021. We have much to be thankful for this year. The pandemic isn’t over, but we are learning how to live with it. For many there are empty chairs at the table due to Covid, just as there were empty chairs in 1863 and the 1940’s from the Wars. But Thanksgiving isn’t about loss, it’s about life. The Pilgrims could look forward to a winter better than the one before. Washington could look forward to a new nation, a new experiment in human experience. Lincoln could finally see a road to victory in the Civil War. And Roosevelt could get us to go shopping – for an extra week.
President Biden has already pardoned the turkeys, though not the two in our refrigerator. And he’s releasing oil from the strategic reserve to lower the burden of soaring gas prices. So there’s reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving as well.
But what we should really think about as we gather round our family tables tomorrow, is that there still is so much more that unifies our nation than divides it. For at least one day, we are all focused on the same subject: gathering our loved ones and sharing a meal. Regardless of our political differences, we can all share in that.
And if the turkey puts you to sleep, no worries. Close your eyes, the Bears and Lions football game really won’t be much of a contest. But save some turkey for the “Game” on Saturday, and the Bengals and Steelers on Sunday!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
