The Virginia Company of London (known simply as 'The London Company') was a division of The Virginia Company which had been granted the rights to colonize the east coast of North America between latitudes 34° and 41° North. In early December of 1619, thirty-eight English settlers ended their pilgrimage to a new world when they arrived in Charles County, Virginia. As part of that ship's charter, they observed a day of celebration and thanksgiving shortly after coming ashore, and commemorated that day as the first of a yearly observance. It was the very first recorded observance of the holiday we now call "Thanksgiving."
Additional observances of the commemoration broke out up and down the original U.S. colonies, and in 1621 an especially large Day of Thanksgiving observance was observed in Plymouth, Massachusetts to commemorate an extremely abundant fall harvest. This is the long thought first "Thanksgiving" that has been taught in American public schools down through the ages. The one where Pilgrims (mean those who had made the pilgrimage from the old world to the new) celebrated alongside the Wampanoags tribe who had assisted them through the previous harsh winter.
It might be noted that a similar observances stem back to the early 1500's in England as a celebration of the English Reformation, but it's also know that many parts of Europe had celebrated the 'fall harvest' prior to the start of winter for perhaps as many as 500 years earlier.
When exactly any date in November was first recognized, is unknown, especially since the typical fall harvest in New England is well before the late-date of we observe as Thanksgiving now. So, while the day of thankfulness has been observed over numerous dates in the four-hundred plus years since that observance in December of 1619, the holiday was first commemorated as a 'national day of celebration' by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, with the states being granted the right to set their own day of observances.
In October of 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed the "next to the last Thursday in November" as the official date of observance within the United States. But two years later, the U.S. Congress changed the official 'Thanksgiving Day' national holiday to the fourth Thursday in November starting in 1942. So, while there are always four Thursday's in November, and in some year's five, the date of the holiday may change from year to year, but not the day of observance... it's now the fourth Thursday of each November.
Regardless of the history, the debate whether it started in Virginia or Massachusetts, the notion that it is tied directly to the end of harvest or not, or the variety of dates upon which it has been observed over these four-hundred years... it is a day of 'giving thanks' for all the year since it was last celebrated has brought into our lives.
For many it is another long holiday weekend as some families make pilgrimages of their own choosing to travel to the homes of relatives for what is almost the grand theme of the holiday.... the Thanksgiving meal. Today turkey, potatoes, stuffing (also called dressing), root vegetables like squash, cabbage and beans, along with corn, nuts and berries (cranberries for many) and of course pumpkin pie (made from another gourd) are among the honored foods many American will find among the bountiful harvest before sitting down to watch parades and football games.
For many others, Thanksgiving Day is the 'day of rest before the storm begins' since the day following is considered by many to be the first day of the official Christmas shopping season, and a day of celebration come to be known as 'Black Friday' meaning that it is the day in the year of many retailers when they begin to turn a profit. Sales abound, many in stores that open at midnight to a rush of shoppers. With the Internet now being the source of so much retail selling and buying, online sales corresponding to the opening of the 'store doors' precludes a lot of people from 'standing in lines', much to the chagrin of brick-n-mortar store owners.
So, whether you will be 'fat and happy' watching football all weekend as you polish off the rest of those Thanksgiving leftovers, or you will be out in the bustle of busy mall parking lots, standing in the checkout lines of your favorite stores, or searching from one website to another to find that perfect gift for someone special, let us not forget to be 'thankful' for all we have and from where it came and 'give thanks'.
May the thankfulness of the season remain forever in your hearts and minds as you gather with family, friends and neighbors.
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