A NATIONAL PROCLAMATION OF THANKSGIVING
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The first National Proclamation of Thanksgiving was issued by the Continental Congress in November 1777 and the first Thanksgiving Day celebrated under the new Constitution of the United States fell on November 26, 1789. Our first POTUS, George Washington, proclaimed "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer."
The first Thanksgiving in America was celebrated by Pilgrims* and their Native-American guests after the fall harvest of 1621. According to James Baker, vice-president of research at Plimoth Plantation, the event occurred sometime between September 21 and November 11. Baker pinpoints the "most likely" date as September 29.
According to Edward Winslow**, the meal, cooked by four adult Pilgrim women, their daughters and servants, was enjoyed by 90 Native-Americans and 53 Pilgrims. While there has been some debate as to whether the first Thanksgiving was held in Massachusetts or Virginia, James Baker says...
"The American holiday's true origin was the New England Calvinist Thanksgiving."
On November 5, 1963, President John F. Kennedy issued Proclamation 3560 which stated...
"Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and Massachusetts...set aside a time of thanksgiving....they gave thanks for their safety, for the health of their children, for the fertility of their fields, for the love which bound them together and for the faith which united them with their God."
*Pilgrims were Separatists who believed the Church of England was beyond reform & chose to leave England for the Netherlands & then to America. By the early 19th century, the term 'Pilgrims' was applied to all Englishmen & women who settled Plimoth even if some were not Separatists. Those who were of religious faith called themselves 'Saints' and referred to those who were not as 'Strangers'.
**Edward Winslow (1595-1655) was born in England & became a leader of the Separatist Puritans (Pilgrims). EW was a leader both on the Mayflower & in the Plymouth Colony.
SOURCES
"Who were the Pilgrims?", Plimoth Plantation, www.plimoth.org
"Presidential Proclamation 3560," John F. Kennedy, November 5, 1963, The American Presidency Project, www.presidencyucsb.edu/
"Thanksgiving at the White House 1963", www.historyinpieces.com/
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The first National Proclamation of Thanksgiving was issued by the Continental Congress in November 1777 and the first Thanksgiving Day celebrated under the new Constitution of the United States fell on November 26, 1789. Our first POTUS, George Washington, proclaimed "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer."
The first Thanksgiving in America was celebrated by Pilgrims* and their Native-American guests after the fall harvest of 1621. According to James Baker, vice-president of research at Plimoth Plantation, the event occurred sometime between September 21 and November 11. Baker pinpoints the "most likely" date as September 29.
According to Edward Winslow**, the meal, cooked by four adult Pilgrim women, their daughters and servants, was enjoyed by 90 Native-Americans and 53 Pilgrims. While there has been some debate as to whether the first Thanksgiving was held in Massachusetts or Virginia, James Baker says...
"The American holiday's true origin was the New England Calvinist Thanksgiving."
On November 5, 1963, President John F. Kennedy issued Proclamation 3560 which stated...
"Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and Massachusetts...set aside a time of thanksgiving....they gave thanks for their safety, for the health of their children, for the fertility of their fields, for the love which bound them together and for the faith which united them with their God."
*Pilgrims were Separatists who believed the Church of England was beyond reform & chose to leave England for the Netherlands & then to America. By the early 19th century, the term 'Pilgrims' was applied to all Englishmen & women who settled Plimoth even if some were not Separatists. Those who were of religious faith called themselves 'Saints' and referred to those who were not as 'Strangers'.
**Edward Winslow (1595-1655) was born in England & became a leader of the Separatist Puritans (Pilgrims). EW was a leader both on the Mayflower & in the Plymouth Colony.
SOURCES
"Who were the Pilgrims?", Plimoth Plantation, www.plimoth.org
"Presidential Proclamation 3560," John F. Kennedy, November 5, 1963, The American Presidency Project, www.presidencyucsb.edu/
"Thanksgiving at the White House 1963", www.historyinpieces.com/
The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth
by Jennie A. Brownscombe (1914)
Stedelijk Museum, De Lakenhal
