What Is The Origin of The Thanksgiving Day In The United States of America?
The Thanksgiving day celebrated in the United States and the other parts of North America (ex- Canada) has a connection with the Thanksgiving festival of the English Puritan tradition.
However, present-day, this is celebrated as a secular festival in the United States by almost all communities.
As per some historical sources, for the first time, in 1621, the first ever Thanksgiving was observed in North America by 53 Pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and 90 Wampanoag Native Americans.
The celebration lasted for three days.
However, according to another source, 1621 is not correct because the first ever celebration took place in 1619 at a British colony in Virginia, called Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County. The celebration happened on December 4th, 1619.
Although controversies still exist; but with one fact we all can agree that its roots are connected with English Puritans’ tradition.
What Are The Prime Reasons For Celebrating Thanksgiving Day?
Usually, people think of Thanksgiving as a harvest festival. But this is not the complete truth.
Apart from harvesting, it is also celebrated for many other reasons.
Those reasons are:
- Ship landings on new landmasses
- As a joy of victory in a war
- As a joy of the end of a severe drought, etc.
For example, in 1789, the United States first President George Washington declared a day of Thanksgiving after getting the victory in the Revolutionary war.
Another example is, in 1863, President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday after the victory in the Battle of Gettysburg (During the Civil War).
To Whom People Give Thanks On The Thanksgiving Day?
On Thanksgiving day, people in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Liberia give thanks and pray to their almighty god for providing them a good life with a lot of happiness.
