The Story of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, a holiday celebrated in the U.S. on the fourth Thursday in November, is an autumn harvest festival.

But what's the story behind the holiday?

The American celebration of the holiday has its roots in a 3 day feast celebrated in the fall of 1621 by the Pilgrims and and native Wampanoag of Plymouth Massachusetts in thanks for a bountiful harvest after a year of illness and scarcity.

In modern times, President George Washington proclaimed Thursday the 26th of November 1789 a day of  "public thanksgiving and prayer".

Although there were Thanksgiving observances both before and after Washington's proclamation, it was not an official holiday.

Urged by magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale, and partially in gratitude for the pivotal Union Army victory at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday in 1863.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt changed the date twice, the second time in 1941, to the fourth Thursday in November, where it stands today.

So many names make us think of Thanksgiving.

Tom (Turkey), Autumn, Hope, Grace, William Bradford, Happy, Holiday, AltaGracia, Merci, Nadine, Noble, Asha, Esperanza and Blessing just to name a few.

Have a Great Thanksgiving!