Why do Americans celebrate Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is a distinctively American celebration. The holiday incorporates the most iconic aspects of American culture: food, family and football. Thanksgiving is second only to the Fourth of July in terms of nationalist expression and ranks near or at the top (depending on who you ask) of the pantheon of holidays celebrated in the United States. Nonetheless a great question remains. Why do American’s celebrate this distinct and iconic holiday? The natural answer to this question is that Thanksgiving is a commemoration of the Pilgrims’ historic feast with their Native American neighbors at the Plymouth Bay colony. However this answer fails to account for nearly four centuries of history and alternative “Thanksgivings” that some might argue are more related to America’s modern festivities than that of the Pilgrims.
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in the autumn of 1621 by the dissenting English puritans known as Pilgrims who fled England in search of asylum in the new world. The Pilgrims arrived via the Mayflower in the New World on November 9, 1621 near what is today known as Cape Cod Massachusetts. By December 6th of that year the Pilgrims had established a colony in an area they named Plymouth after the English port from which they departed. Before going ashore the Pilgrims signed a document known as the Mayflower Compact that outlined the new settlement’s laws and is widely considered an early forerunner of the United States’ Constitution. During the Pilgrims first winter forty-five of the one hundred and two settlers perished due to malnourishment and insufficient shelter. As a result of this tragedy Pilgrim leaders sought out assistance from the local Native American population. With the help of the Wampanoag tribesmen, Squanto, who spoke English as a result of years of enslavement in Spain and England, the Pilgrims developed more appropriate shelters and cultivated an abundant harvest. Consequently the Pilgrims and Wampanoags joined together for a harvest feast that many historians consider the first Thanksgiving.
Throughout the subsequent centuries various American groups celebrated their own Thanksgiving. The Continental Congress, declared a Thanksgiving in December 1777 in honor of the pivotal American victory over the British at the Battle of Saratoga. In September 1789 President George Washington declared a national Thanksgiving in honor of Congress’ passage of the Bill of Rights. Both of these celebrations, which included the consumption of turkey and pumpkin pie, were much more similar to modern Thanksgiving than the Pilgrims’ feast, which included eel dishes.
During the middle of the American Civil War Republican President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November a national day of Thanksgiving. This action was done to promote northern morale during the brutal conflict but soon became a thoroughly ingrained tradition. In 1939 Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt created a public controversy when at the urging of major retailers, who wanted an expanded Christmas selling season, he proclaimed the second to last Thursday as Thanksgiving. Many American disliked this break of tradition and consequently two holidays developed. So called “Republican Thanksgiving” was celebrated on the last Thursday of November and “Democratic Thanksgiving” was celebrated on the second to last Thursday. This issue persisted until 1941 when Congress issued a compromise resolution that declared the fourth Thursday of November as the federal holiday of Thanksgiving. With a legal basis firmly established Thanksgiving grew along with America’s post war prosperity into the event it is today.
Americans celebrate Thanksgiving because of centuries of historic festivities that pay homage to the nation’s incredible fortune and prosperity.
Have a Great Thanksgiving everyone!