Exploring evolving Thanksgiving traditions

-- Christina Thury

Aromas of turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes and corn mingle with the aroma of pumpkin pie to permeate the air. Women chatter in the kitchen, each keeping a watchful eye on dinner as the roar of a football game on TV combines with exuberant displays of joy or disgust from men. These are the Thanksgiving Day traditions that many of us are now familiar with. Thanksgiving Day traditions have continued to evolve since Thanksgiving’s advent, in 1621.

“Although there is record of earlier Thanksgiving celebrations (most notably in 1619 at Berkeley Plantation, Virginia), Americans trace their traditional Thanksgiving holiday [back] to the one celebrated in 1621” states http://encarta.msn.com. The English pilgrims, who founded the Plymouth Colony, held this event.

History refers to this as “the first thanksgiving” but there is no evidence that any of the participants thought of the feast as a thanksgiving celebration. “This feast was never repeated, so it can’t be called the start of a tradition, nor did the colonists or pilgrims call it a “Thanksgiving Feast.” In fact, to these devoutly religious people, a day of thanksgiving was a day of prayer and fasting” reports http://www.thanksgiving.org.

“While books and letters written in the 1620s mention that the colonists celebrated their first harvest ‘by rejoicing in a special manner’ and that the Wampanoag people joined them, it was only much later in the 19th century—and erroneously—that this event was interpreted to be ‘The First Thanksgiving.’ In fact, both cultures had separate traditions of giving thanks that predated this particular event, and neither culture called it a ‘thanksgiving’ at the time” states http://www.plimoth.org/visit/what/hobbamock.asp. The Plimoth (17th century spelling) Plantation refers to this event at “the harvest celebration in 1621.”

In 1623, during a period of drought, rains fell as prayers were recited, so a day of fasting and prayer was changed to a day of thanksgiving. Gradually, New Englanders annually celebrated Thanksgiving after the harvest.

Commemorating various public events with days of thanksgiving became popular throughout the New England and other states. Following the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolution, the Continental Congress proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving.

And, in 1789, President George Washington proclaimed another day of thanksgiving in honor of the ratification of the constitution of the United States. “In 1817, New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom, and many other states soon did the same” reports http://encarta.msn.com. The celebrations were not held on the same day, but most did take place in November.

Between 1789 and 1861, peace and prosperity abounded, so the presidential proclamations of prayer and thanksgiving fell by the wayside. In 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November to be Thanksgiving Day in an attempt to boost union morale. Lincoln is reported as having written, “Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and reserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us” stated http://www.thanksgiving.org. Congress established Thanksgiving as a national holiday after the Civil War.

In the 20th century, Thanksgiving traditions catered to the increasingly urban city dwellers. Gradually, the holiday shopping season began the day after Thanksgiving. In an attempt to lure shoppers to their stores, retailers hosted lavish parades. By 1934, Macy’s parade attracted more than one million spectators annually.

President Franklin Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up one week in 1939 after retailers petitioned the president to make the change, so an extra week of shopping would fall between Thanksgiving and the holidays. Political opponents, along with the American people, objected to the change and dubbed this “Franksgiving.”

President Roosevelt admitted he made a mistake in 1941 and signed a bill that established the fourth Thursday of November as the national Thanksgiving holiday. It has remained on the fourth Thursday of November ever since.

Thanksgiving Day traditions most likely will continue to evolve in the future. Perhaps one day, men will cook the dinner and women will watch football? Okay, well, maybe not. But there is a good chance that a female president will be giving the presidential turkey pardon before the end of this century.

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