RIHLA #9

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Thanksgiving

First Thanksgiving
The first Thanksgiving was in November 1621. The pilgrims wanted to celebrate their successful corn harvest. Governor William Bradford had invited a Native American alliance tribe. The celebration lasted three days.

First Thanksgiving Food
Believe it or not the first thanksgiving was not as luxurious as it is today. Record has it that since the sugar from the pilgrims was low, they had no pies or cakes at the first thanksgiving. Also, that the Native Americans had brought five deers as Gifts. It is also inferred that the food was prepared using Native American spices and cooking methods to help make the food, since the pilgrims had no ovens.

Thanksgiving and the government
George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation in the national government, which asked The country to express their gratification for their independence from the war and the U.S Constitution

New York, in 1817, was the first State to Have a legal annual Thanksgiving Holiday.

Abraham Lincoln had legally scheduled thanksgiving on the final Thursday of every November, all the until 1939. Then Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it a week up to help stimulate retail sales for Thanksgiving. But signed a bill later to have it on the fourth Thursday of November, because of the huge opposition on the move.

Was it really an American Holiday originally?
It can be traced that many other counties had holidays that gave thanks to God. For example the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians. They all had festivals after the fall harvest and thanked the God/s for the harvest. Even the Native Americans had a tradition of celebrating the fall harvest with a feast and partying.

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