Thanksgiving Day: History, Meaning, and Significance

“Thanksgiving Day: History, Meaning, and
Significance”

Thanksgiving Day is the time of year when we remember and express our gratitude to the
loved ones who enrich our lives. Everyone waits all year to be around the table with family
and friends to dig into turkey and enjoy sweet delicacies. It’s the time when we share creative
messages and wishes with the ones who mean the most to us. But how many of us are really
familiar with the history and significance of Thanksgiving? Picboot is here to help. We have
answers for all your whys and hows regarding Thanksgiving.

When do we celebrate Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving Day is celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of November in the United
States. It is marked as a federal holiday in the US. It is also called "American Thanksgiving"
to distinguish it from the Canadian holiday of the same name, which falls on the second
Monday of October. Thanksgiving is not just restricted to the North American continent but
is also celebrated in other countries like Germany, Brazil, Japan, Liberia, etc. in different
forms around the same time.
How do we celebrate Thanksgiving?
Despite having a religious significance, Thanksgiving has turned out to be more of a secular
holiday now. This is the day when most Americans enjoy a get-together and a delicious feast

with their friends and families. Everyone
expresses their thanks through a
mouthwatering turkey, pumpkin pie, and
some good wine. Some of the
celebrations also involve family members
writing lists of the things they are
thankful for and then reading them loudly
to share their happiness and blessings. As
the name suggests, "Thanksgiving," the
holiday holds a deep sense of gratitude.

What food items do we eat at Thanksgiving dinner?

A Thanksgiving meal can’t just go without a turkey. Turkey is now synonymous with
Thanksgiving. Other than that, traditional Thanksgiving dinners include stuffing, mashed
potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin, and apple pie.

When was the "First Thanksgiving" celebrated?

Although the exact date of the "First Thanksgiving" is quite debatable, its origins can be
traced back to 1621, when the Plymouth colonists, known as pilgrims, and the Native
American tribe (Wampanoag) celebrated after their first harvest. The Pilgrims sat together
with Native Americans to share a meal and thank them for helping with a successful first
harvest. The autumn harvest festival continued for three days in Plymouth. The gathering
included 90 Native Americans and around 50 pilgrims who came on the Mayflower ship. The
feast was cooked by the four adult Pilgrim women, along with their young daughters and
other servants. The Pilgrims celebrated the second Thanksgiving just two years later, in 1623,

to mark the end of a long drought that had affected
the year's harvest and prompted Governor
Bradford to go on a religious fast. After this
Thanksgiving, fasting and the annual
Thanksgiving celebration became common
practices in other New England settlements as
well.

A Change in the Date

After its origin, Thanksgiving became popular and was celebrated among individual colonies
and states for more than two centuries. It became a national thing in 1863, when President
Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of the Civil War, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to
be held on the final Thursday of November. It was celebrated on the last Thursday of
November for another 76 years.

As per Wikipedia, in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in
an attempt to increase retail sales during the Great Depression. This decision was criticized
by the opposition, and many protests took place. The critics renamed Thanksgiving
"Franksgiving" in the name of the president to mock this revolutionary decision. In 1941, the
President was finally successful in signing the bill to move Thanksgiving to the fourth
Thursday of November. Since then, Thanksgiving has been celebrated every year on the
fourth Thursday of November.

The Dark History

Few people believe that the picture of Thanksgiving's history is not as rosy as it has been
painted over the years. As per the Smithsonian, when Europeans began coming to the New
World (now known as the United States) about four years before the Mayflower ship arrived,
they carried foreign illnesses that killed Native Americans at exceedingly high rates. It made
it easier for pilgrims to take over these lands. Another saying is that the pilgrims came to the
area to kidnap and sell Native Americans into slavery.

"Thanksgiving day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of
Native lands, and the relentless assault on Native culture," says the United American Indians
of New England.

When was it recognized as a national holiday?

New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving
holiday in 1817. Each state celebrated Thanksgiving on a different day. Interestingly, South
America remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition.

The Black Friday

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States. It is also considered a
traditional holiday for most of the employees, making it a fun-long weekend. You must have
seen the big, bold Black Friday graphics for clearance sales and discounts, that is what Black
Friday is known for. It marks the start of the holiday shopping season, with special deals and
deep discounts on nearly all products throughout the stores.

Picboot has a collection of free Thanksgiving graphics, design templates, and messages that
can be simply edited as per your requirements. The Thanksgiving graphics and messages can
easily be shared on WhatsApp messages and also work well as a caption for your social
media posts.

Share the happiness and cherish the festival of gratitude with your loved ones.