Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving, and why is it always on a Thursday?
Here are three things you might not have known about Thanksgiving. Where did the holiday come from, and why is it the fourth Thursday in November?
On the last Thursday of every November, Renoites and Americans alike join around the dining table with family and friends to fill their bellies with turkey, mashed potatoes and pie — many perhaps following the unspoken rule of “no politics at the dinner table.”
Attendees get ready to turn on the Macy’s parade, a football game or the televised National Dog Show while the young adults avoid uncomfortable questions about their dating lives (here’s how to properly do so), grandpa snoozes on the couch, and someone always drinks a little too much champagne.
But why do many Americans celebrate this holiday of food and family?
Unlike what we’re told as kids, the holiday’s origin did not actually start with a friendly invite to dinner.
When was the first Thanksgiving?
The first “Thanksgiving” dates back to 1621 when the Plymouth colonists — known as Pilgrims — and the local Wampanoag people shared an autumn harvest feast, according to history.com.
However, the Pilgrims did not invite the tribe to their feast. Instead, when the pilgrims shot off their muskets as a form of celebration, the Wampanoag people thought it was a threat. Historians believe 90 members of the Wampanoag tribe arrived at the feast ready for battle.
Once the misunderstanding was cleared, the tribe members decided to stay for the feast, and even brought deer to add to the menu. There’s no known official date of the colonists’ feast, but it did last for three days.
However, native Americans already had a tradition of celebrating the fall harvest long before the colonists’ arrival, according to the History Channel.
But what started as a harvest tradition grew into a national holiday.
When did Thanksgiving become a national holiday?
In 1668, Nov. 25 was considered the “legal” annual day of Thanksgiving, but that only lasted five years, according to the Famer’s Almanac.
According to the National Park Service, all 13 colonies held Thanksgiving celebrations in 1777, but the first official Thanksgiving celebration started on Nov. 26, 1789 — which happened to be a Tuesday. George Washington proclaimed the day as a way to recognize and celebrate the newly signed Constitution.
Thanksgiving became a national holiday when President Abraham Lincoln declared it the day of “thanksgiving and praise” in 1863 to try and unite the country during the Civil War.
How hard is it to park at the airport during holiday season
Go on a ride along as RGJ reporter Mark Robison sees for himself how tough it is to park at the Reno Tahoe International Airport during holiday season.
Why is Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November?
It was Lincoln who set the precedent of Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of November.
However, in 1939 and 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the holiday to the third Thursday, to encourage more shopping during the Great Depression, according to history.com.
Congress put an end to moving Thanksgiving around in 1941, after receiving opposition about the holiday being moved up. Roosevelt signed the proposed bill to lock in the holiday as the fourth Thursday of November.
This year, it falls on Thursday, Nov. 27.
Jaedyn Young covers local government for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Her wages are 100% funded by donations and grants; if you’d like to see more stories like this one, please consider donating at RGJ.com/donate. Send your story ideas and feedback to Jaedyn at jyoung@rgj.com.
