The Story of Thanksgiving: How It Became a National Holiday

Thanksgiving, with its cozy family gatherings, mountains of mashed potatoes, and endless slices of pie, is a holiday cherished by many. But few know the full story behind its creation as a national holiday. It didn’t start with a single official declaration or a neat historical moment. Instead, it took years of effort, and the persistence of one determined woman, to make Thanksgiving the nationwide holiday we celebrate today.

Early Days: Thanksgiving Before It Was Official

When we think of the “First Thanksgiving,” we usually picture Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people sitting down to feast together in 1621. They celebrated a good harvest in what’s now Plymouth, Massachusetts, and yes, there was food and a sense of gratitude—but they didn’t call it “Thanksgiving,” and they didn’t plan on making it an annual tradition. Over the years, other colonies held similar celebrations, often marking the end of a tough season, a good harvest, or even the end of a war. But these days of thanksgiving were mostly regional and not observed across all colonies, much less the country.

Sarah Josepha Hale: The Woman Who Believed in Thanksgiving

If anyone deserves the title “Mother of Thanksgiving,” it’s Sarah Josepha Hale. An accomplished writer and editor, she’s also known for penning the classic nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” But Hale had her sights set on a bigger mission: making Thanksgiving a unifying, national holiday for the entire country.

Starting in the 1840s, she spent nearly two decades lobbying for this idea. She believed that an annual day of gratitude could bring Americans together, even when things felt divided. Hale wrote letters to governors, state representatives, and even five different presidents, urging them to establish a national day of thanks. Through her magazine editorials, she appealed to the public, too, describing Thanksgiving as a day for celebrating family, faith, and community values.

Lincoln and the Civil War Proclamation

In 1863, during the height of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln finally responded to Hale’s appeal. In October of that year, he issued a proclamation that established a nationwide Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November. Lincoln hoped that this national day of gratitude would offer Americans a sense of comfort and unity during such a turbulent time.

This marked the first time the nation had an official, annual Thanksgiving. While individual states still observed it differently, Lincoln’s proclamation set the tradition, and over the years, most of the country fell into line, observing Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November.

The Thanksgiving Date Change (And Some Confusion!)

Fast forward to 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to shake things up. To boost retail sales during the Great Depression, he moved Thanksgiving up a week—to the second-to-last Thursday in November—hoping to give shoppers more time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But not everyone was happy about it. Some states followed the new date, while others stuck with the traditional last-Thursday celebration, leading to a country that was suddenly divided on when to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Two years later, in 1941, Congress passed a law making Thanksgiving an official holiday, set on the fourth Thursday of November—where it remains today. This compromise kept the holiday close to the end of the month while providing consistency for everyone.

What Thanksgiving Means Today

Thanks to Sarah Hale’s persistence, Lincoln’s proclamation, and Roosevelt’s date shift, we now have a Thanksgiving holiday celebrated across the United States. Today, Thanksgiving is a chance to take a break from the daily grind, appreciate family, friends, and life’s blessings, and share a special meal together.

So, as you dig into turkey and stuffing this Thanksgiving, remember the journey that brought this holiday to your table. It’s a holiday shaped by tradition, history, and the enduring hope that even in the toughest times, there’s always reason to be thankful.