How Thanksgiving Began

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

Thank you for reading our latest newsletter. Although Thanksgiving has different meanings to many, it did not begin that way. The first Thanksgiving became about in 1621, when Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an Autumn feast.In 1863 in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving to be held each November. At the height of the civil war Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that Americans should ask God to "commend to his tender care and those who have become widow, orphans, mourners or suffers in the lamentable civil strife: and, "to heal the wounds of the nation." Lincoln set Thanksgiving for the first Thursday in November and was celebrated on that day until 1939. It was then that Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales during the great depression. It was met with strong opposition and in 1941 Roosevelt reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November (2015 History.com/Thanksgiving) Since then American families gather together to have a similar feast with their loved ones. To many of us, thanksgiving has lost its religious significance. 

Ida Temple — Owner
idatemple@hotmail.com

www.idasgiftstore.com

November 2015