Why Do We Celebrate Thanksgiving?

People in the United States celebrate several “major” holidays during the calendar year, some of them closely connected to the Christian religion. Christmas is undoubtedly the most important holiday of this type. However, Thanksgiving comes in close behind on the favorite-holiday list.

Why is Thanksgiving so important and why do people prepare for it in such detailed ways? A big part of the answer is in the history of this holiday. The day is set aside for gathering with family and other close friends to share some time and feast on the bounty of our lives. It is a holiday with a direct connection to our immediate past.

A population commonly known as Pilgrims found a new home in the northeastern section of the United States, and in the long run enjoyed freedom they didn’t have in their European homes. But the new life wasn’t as easy as the travelers had hoped, as they arrived late in the year. Cold weather and lack of food caused many deaths. The Pilgrims were fortunate to have developed a rather friendly relationship with the original residents of the New England area.

Cooperation and peace with the region’s Native Americans allowed the settlers to exist. Methods of growing and preparing food were learned from these original residents. With some help from better weather the next year, the settlers were able to grow crops and start to build a better life. They put on a feast and invited many of the Native Americans, with the intention of giving thanks to their God and their friends for the good fortune.

Eventually, the United States officially declared a Thanksgiving holiday to continue this tradition. But even though the holiday is recognized as a national holiday, declared by the federal government, it is based both in religion and in the community. (Some of the foundation for this celebration dates back many years, to the Feast of Tabernacles as described in the Old Testament.).

A proclamation for a Thanksgiving Day was issued in 1676, to solidify the idea of giving thanks to God for the land and its gifts. The day was officially recognized in 1789, on a one-time basis, after the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. But it took until 1815 for the day to be celebrated again nationally.

A woman named Sarah J. Hale advocated for a national holiday in the mid-1800s until she helped convinced President Abraham Lincoln to name the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day. This changed twice, until Congress set the fourth Thursday of November each year as the official holiday.

For the next 100 years, people across the nation have traveled to the original family home or to the home of a close relative for a large meal and time to bond. Most families combine the feasting with attendance at a local church. In doing so, they continue the two major parts of the Thanksgiving tradition.

 Print This Page