THANKSGIVING BECOMES A
NATIONAL HOLIDAY
By Mary Emma Allen
 Even
though we think of the first Thanksgiving as taking place in Plymouth
Colony, Massachusetts, this celebration didn't become an official holiday
until many years later.. A woman from the State of New Hampshire was
responsible for this recognition.
Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of "Godey's Lady's Book," decided that
Thanksgiving should become a national holiday. She initiated a campaign to
have a day in the late fall set aside for us to give thanks for our harvest
and many blessings.
From 1846 to 1863, she wrote letters to presidents, governors, and any
influential people she could think of. Many editorials appeared in her
magazine, urging recognition of this celebration as a holiday.
Lincoln Listens to Her
The man who finally listened to Mrs. Hale was President Abraham Lincoln. He
decided that a day of thanksgiving in the autumn also might help create
harmony in the nation midst the Civil War.
So in 1863, he declared that Thanksgiving Day would be the last Thursday in
November. At Mrs. Hale's insistence, he also designated that day as
Thanksgiving the following year. The holiday has been celebrated ever since.
Congress Officially Sets Holiday
In 1941, Congress passed a resolution which changed Thanksgiving from
the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday of the month. Since
then, the fourth Thursday, which sometimes is the last one, has officially
been Thanksgiving. Our thanks goes to Sarah Josepha Hale for her
determination to have an officially designated holiday for us to pause and
give thanks for our many blessings.
(c) 2001 Mary Emma Allen
(Mary Emma Allen has been writing cooking columns for 30 years and has
compiled a family cookbook. She's currently compiling a cookbook/story book,
"Tales From a Country Kitchen." Visit her web site for more cooking
articles:
http://homepage.fcgnetworks.net/jetent/mea; e-mail: me.allen@juno.com)
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