A Day of Thanksgiving
Posted on Nov 24, 2025 by Shari Van Baale
We are a couple of days away from celebrating Thanksgiving. I am sure you know that it commemorates the first harvest feast shared by the colonists (pilgrims) and Native Americans in 1621. But did you know it was not an official holiday until 1863?
After the 1621 harvest feast, other thanksgivings were held sporadically by individual colonies and states. President George Washington issued a Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789, but that was for more of a day of prayer and thanks, not an official holiday.
After that there still was no official day or holiday, as it was celebrated on various dates. According to Smithsonian.com, “The next three Presidents proclaimed, at most, two days of thanksgiving sometime during their terms of office, either on their own initiative or at the request of a joint Resolution of Congress. One exception was Thomas Jefferson, who believed it was a conflict of church and state to require the American people hold a day of prayer and thanksgiving. President James Madison proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving to be held on April 13, 1815, the last such proclamation issued by a president until Abraham Lincoln did so.”
I always thought that they had the first Thanksgiving in 1621 and it was observed as a holiday every year after. I was very surprised to learn that it did not become a holiday until 1863, and most of the reason behind it becoming a holiday was a female magazine editor. It took almost 40 years of her campaigning for a permanent national holiday for it to happen.
According to Smithsonian.com, “Most of the credit for the establishment of an annual Thanksgiving holiday may be given to Sarah Josepha Hale. Editor of Ladies’ Magazine and Godey's Lady's Book, she began to agitate for such a day in 1827 by printing articles in the magazines. She also published stories and recipes, and wrote scores of letters to governors, senators, and presidents. After 36 years of crusading, she won her battle.”
Hale wrote a letter to President Lincoln on Sept. 28, 1863, urging him to have a national day of Thanksgiving. Prior to that, each state had its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times.
It took this letter from a 74-year-old female magazine editor and the end of the Civil War to convince President Lincoln to finally make it a holiday. After the war, the nation was still divided, and Lincoln saw declaring a national day of Thanksgiving as a way to bring the country together.
On Oct. 3, 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed that Nov. 26, would be a national Thanksgiving Day, to be observed every year on the last Thursday of November. (CLICK HERE to read President Lincoln’s proclamation.)
It is interesting to note that President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the second-to-last Thursday in November during the Great Depression to extend the Christmas shopping season. He hoped it would increase profits and spending, thus bringing the country out of the Depression.
According to Wikipedia, “At the time, advertising goods for Christmas before Thanksgiving was considered inappropriate.” That is definitely not the case anymore, as these days we can find Christmas merchandise year round in many places, and the shopping and advertising begins earlier and earlier each year.
Some states observed the new date, while others kept it on the last Thursday of November. According to Wikipedia, this became a political thing. “Republicans decried the change, calling it an affront to the memory of Lincoln. People began referring to November 30 as the ‘Republican Thanksgiving’ and November 23 as the ‘Democratic Thanksgiving’ or ‘Franksgiving’.” This led Congress to pass a law in 1941 officially making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.
And it has been that way ever since.
Shari Van Baale
Salem Communications Coordinator