About Thanksgiving
The first Thanksgiving in America was celebrated less than a year
after the Plymouth colonists settled in the New World. The corn harvest
brought celebration and Governor William Bradford decreed that a three
day feast be held.
Thanksgiving Day is a day set aside in the United States
and Canada for giving thanks. People give thanks with feasting and
prayer for the blessings that they have received during the year.
The first Thanksgivings were harvest festivials, or days for thanking
God for plentiful crops. For this reason, the holiday is associated
with fall - a time of harvesting the crops.
In the United States, Thanksgiving is usually a day celebrated
with big dinners and family reunions. Thanksgiving is also a time for
religious reflection, church services and prayer. The last Thursday
in November was proclaimed the National Thanksgiving holiday by Abraham
Lincoln in 1863. He proclaimed it "a day of thanksgiving and praise
to the beneficent Father." Thanksgiving was celebrated on that date
for 75 years until President Roosevelt set the day one week earlier
in 1939. He wanted to lengthen the shopping period between Thanksgiving
and Christmas to help businesses. Congress finally ruled in 1941 that
the fourth Thursday in November would be the legal National Thanksgiving
Day holiday.
In Canada, the day used to be celebrated on the last Monday in October.
In 1957, the Canadian government proclaimed the second Monday in October
for the national holiday.
Thanksgiving Activities and
Games
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