Thanksgiving Day was first celebrated by the early colonists of New England, though it has some ties with various harvest festivals or feasts throughout the world. The first American Thanksgiving was in Plymouth in 1621. Colonists and Wampanoag Indians came together to share their food and to give thanks to the Wampanoag Indians for showing the colonists how to survive in their “new world.”

This tradition spread throughout the colonies, but was celebrated on different days by different people until President George Washington proclaimed November 26 a day of Thanksgiving, although it was not made a national holiday until 1863 when President Lincoln set aside the last Thursday of November for the occasion.

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin wanted to make the turkey the national symbol of the United States? The bald eagle took its place for our national symbol, but turkey became the traditional meal of choice for Thanksgiving, probably due to its abundance in the colonies during that time of year. You can still see wild turkeys roam New England in November to this day.

Click here to read Presiden Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863.