What’s your favorite holiday? One of my favorites has always been Thanksgiving. Who hasn’t been in a school play dressed up as a Pilgrim (or a turkey) reenacting that first Thanksgiving Day in 1621 when the surviving Puritans gave thanks for their bountiful harvest ?
According to CHASE’S CALENDAR OF EVENTS (Ref 4803 .C48), the first US holiday by presidential proclamation was issued on Oct. 3, 1789 when George Washington (at request of Congress) proclaimed November 26, 1789 “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer…”. The most famous Thanksgiving Proclamation is the one issued by President Lincoln in 1863. The beautifully written proclamation was actually penned by his Secretary of State, William Seward. http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/thanks.htm
Since 1941 the fourth Thursday in November has been our official Thanksgiving Holiday. Most of us celebrate it by watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and eating turkey, dressing and all the trimmings. http://www1.macys.com/campaign/parade/parade.jsp
Learn more about Thanksgiving and other US holidays on USA.gov’s American Holidays page. http://www.usa.gov/citizens/holidays.shtml
| We Gather Together | |
 | Bernice Wright bwright@sfasu.edu rm. 202j 936.468.1528 Subjects - Agriculture, Forestry, Human Sciences, Human Services, Speech/Communication |
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