Origins of Thanksgiving
The first thanksgiving took place in 1621 when the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn feast together. This was the first celebration amongst the colonies and was celebrates by individual colonies until 1863 when President Lincoln mad Thanksgiving Day a national holiday.
The Mayflower left Plymouth, England with 102 passengers in September of 1682 and it arrived at its intended destination in Massachusetts bay over 3 months later. Fast forward a year later and the Pilgrims have their first successful corn harvest. The Governor William Bradford organized a celebration and invited a group of Native American allies to celebrate the success. There is not many specifics on the original menu at this first Thanksgiving but it is thought that they had local food prepared in a traditional Native American way. This first feast lasted for 3 days.
Thanksgiving has evolved since its first celebration. It now centers around cooking and sharing an enormous meal with family and friends! Turkey, green bean casserole, cranberries, and pumpkin pie are just some of the staple foods made each year for thanksgiving. People add the aspect of thankfulness and incorporate it into the celebration whether it is sharing what they are thankful for or doing an activity as a group.
An integral part of this holiday has become parades around cities and towns in America. The Macy's New York Cities Thanksgiving Day parade is the largest and most famous parade of them all. It started in 1924 and is now attracting around 2 to 3 million spectators from those who go in person and those who watch on television.
Beginning in the mid-20th century and perhaps even earlier, the president of the United States has “pardoned” one or two Thanksgiving turkeys each year, sparing the birds from slaughter and sending them to a farm for retirement. A number of U.S. governors also perform the annual turkey pardoning ritual.