A colleague and friend at work emailed me this morning to ask about Rush Limbaugh's real story of Thanksgiving. He wanted to know if it was historically accurate. I think. Anyway this was my reply:
There is no doubt that Thanksgiving can get people fired up because of what it has become. It is a national secular day of Thanks, but it does have religious roots. But, when you get right down to it (being from PA I understand this a little better), it is a harvest festival. You have more food for the winter in November than you have in January. Before the bitter cold and snow come and the cupboard is bare, people have a big and great feast to celebrate all the hard work they did from spring to fall. In the winter there really isn't as much work to be done on a farm. You enjoy the fruits of your labor (literally).
The first recorded Thanksgiving took place (not by the 1621 Pilgrims) by Spaniards on Sept, 8, 1565 in St. Augustine, Florida. El Paso, Texas also had a "Thanksgiving" on April 30, 1598. In 1619 the Virginia colony celebrated Thanksgiving. Captain John Woodleaf said this, "We ordaine that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned for plantacon in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."
George Washington, leader of the revolutionary forces in the American Revolutionary War, proclaimed a Thanksgiving in December 1777 as a victory celebration honoring the defeat of the British at Saratoga. That was before the Rush Limbaugh 1789 proclamation. Interestingly Thanksgiving was proclaimed sporadically by Presidents after that. TJefferson didn't even proclaim it once. Madison made 2 proclamations in one year and they were not in the fall.
It was Lincoln that "created" the holiday though. During the civil war he declared that it should be Thanksgiving and since 1863 it has been observed ever since. FDR really got things going, in the spirit of the economy, and made it the third Thursday - to give people more time to shop before Christmas. :) Some called this "Franksgiving." Many could not figure out what to do for Franklin's holiday. Some states celebrated the old day, some the new and TEXAS made both Thursday's state holidays. :) Way to make it bigger.
In 1941 Congress split the difference and went with the 4th Thursday (sometimes there are 5 Thursdays in Nov) and it has been that way ever since. Since 1947 the National Turkey Federation has been giving a live Turkey to the White House. The first to "pardon" the turkey was George H. W. Bush in 1989. Today it is a tradition (even Sarah Palin pardoned a Turkey in Alaska, as they slaughtered a live one on television behind her!). W pardoned two this year! Guess he was in a giving mood? He said, "Justin' case."
Since 1970 Native Americans have held a national day of mourning on Thanksgiving in the name of social equality and political prisoners. It is held at Plymouth Rock every year.
And in talk radio land... The Rush Limbaugh Show has a tradition known as "The Real Story of Thanksgiving," in which Limbaugh argues (based upon texts such as Of Plymouth Plantation) that the early Puritans were proto-Communists who, upon near starvation in the winter of 1621, switched to a free enterprise system and prospered.
It is a good story. Who knows how much truth there is to it.
For me, it is a day of three "Fs" -- Family, Feasting, and Football. There are 4 games on today! :)
Have a good one.
DD
sources:
Wikipedia.org - Thanksgiving US
