History Of Thanksgiving
Although Pilgrims had first sighted the land off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, they did not settle until they arrived at a place called Plymouth. It was Captain John Smith who named the place after the English port-city in 1614 and had already settled there for over five years. And it was there that the Pilgrims finally decided to settle. Plymouth offered an excellent harbor and plenty of resources. The local Indians were also non-hostile. But their happiness was short-lived. I'll-equipped to face the winter on this estranged place they were ravaged thoroughly. Somehow they were saved by a group of local Native Americans who befriended them and helped them with food.
Ref. Source 1
History Of Thanksgiving (Hover)
The first Thanksgiving celebrated in the US was very different from what it has become today. It was a feast celebrating the harvest. The foods they ate were most likely much different from what we now eat. Also, it lasted several days.
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Actually, Thanksgiving is nothing new. Throughout history, different people have used different methods of showing their thanks for the harvest. The ancient Jewish custom was the offering of the firstfruits. The first tenth of the initial harvest was given to God, and a feast (the feast of the firstfruits) was held.
The modern Thanksgiving in America was actually started by Puritans, and was an all-day fast spent in prayer, thanking God for the harvest.
Pretty much without exception, every religion has had some way of thanking a divine being responsible for the plentiful harvest, or of giving offerings and repenting for some sins in the case of a meager harvest. There were also offerings in hopes of an even better harvest the next year.
George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789
By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor - and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. Ref. Source 4
President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation
The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Ref. Source 4