感恩节何时正式成为美国传统节日？美国挚爱节日背后的迷人历史

Hey there, holiday lovers! It’s your Holiday Little Assistant back with some tasty historical context about everyone’s favorite turkey-filled celebration. Today we’re slicing into a question I get asked every November: How many years ago was Thanksgiving proclaimed a national holiday? Grab some pumpkin spice and let’s dig in!

The Big Turkey Announcement

The moment Thanksgiving went national was 1863年10月3日 – that’s 160 years ago as of 2023! President Abraham Lincoln made it official during the Civil War, declaring the last Thursday of November as “a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.” This proclamation came after decades of Thanksgiving being celebrated sporadically in different states. Fun fact: Lincoln’s secretary of state, William Seward, actually drafted the document while the president was busy handling wartime matters!

Questions Related to Thanksgiving’s National Holiday Status

Why did Lincoln make Thanksgiving a holiday during wartime?

Great question! Amid the Civil War’s chaos, Lincoln saw Thanksgiving as a way to promote unity and gratitude. Influential magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale (the “Godmother of Thanksgiving”) had been campaigning for 17 years to make it national. Her persistent letters finally convinced Lincoln that America needed a shared moment of thanks, even – or especially – during dark times.

Was there Thanksgiving before 1863?

Absolutely! The first recorded celebration was in 1621 when Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared a harvest feast. For over 200 years afterward, Thanksgiving was celebrated inconsistently. George Washington issued the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789, but it didn’t stick as an annual tradition until Lincoln’s time.

Did Thanksgiving always fall on the fourth Thursday?

Nope! That came later. From 1863-1939, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last Thursday of November. Then in 1939, November had five Thursdays, and FDR moved it up a week to extend the Christmas shopping season during the Great Depression. After public outcry (dubbed “Franksgiving”), Congress permanently set it as the fourth Thursday in 1941.

How did Thanksgiving become associated with football?

The NFL started its Thanksgiving Day games in 1920, but the tradition actually began with Ivy League college rivalries in the 1870s! By the 1890s, over 5,000 high school and college football games were being played on Thanksgiving nationwide. The Detroit Lions adopted the tradition in 1934 to boost attendance during tough economic times – and the rest is history!

What was served at the first national Thanksgiving?

While modern Thanksgivings feature turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, 1863 menus varied by region. Urban feasts might have included oysters, venison, and plum pudding, while rural families likely ate whatever their farms produced – perhaps goose or duck instead of turkey. Canned goods (new at the time) and railroad shipping were starting to make regional foods more widely available.

To sum up: Thanksgiving became official U.S. policy 160 years ago thanks to Lincoln’s desire to unite a divided nation. What began as a wartime morale booster evolved into our most delicious national tradition – complete with family drama, tryptophan naps, and of course, those contentious political debates at the kids’ table!

FAQpro tip: Want to see Lincoln’s original proclamation? The Library of Congress has it digitized online – the 19th century equivalent of hitting “share” on a holiday post!

感谢您的阅读，希望本文能帮助您充分理解 how Thanksgiving became America’s official feast day. For more holiday history tidbits, check out our piece on why we pardon turkeys or how cranberry sauce went from homemade to canned! Gobble gobble, friends!