I want to share a brief look at the real history of Thanksgiving. We all grow up hearing the simplified story of the Pilgrims and the Indians sharing a harvest feast in 1621. There is truth in that story. When the Pilgrims arrived, about half of them died the first winter. The Wampanoag Indians helped them survive by teaching them how to hunt and plant native crops. The 50 survivors held a harvest celebration and invited their Native friends. It was a peaceful gathering, although it was not called Thanksgiving at the time.
As the years passed, that celebration changed. Through the 1600s Thanksgiving took on more religious meaning and often became a day of fasting and prayer. Relationships between colonists and Native Americans declined and eventually collapsed into conflict. One example was King Philip’s War in 1675 and 1676, which became one of the bloodiest periods in early American history.
The modern version of Thanksgiving really took shape much later. A writer named Sarah Josepha Hale promoted the idea of a national holiday for years. She published recipes and encouraged families to create a shared tradition. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday to help unify the country during a very difficult time.
The date changed again in 1939 when President Franklin Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving earlier to help the retail economy by extending the Christmas shopping season. After debate, Congress fixed the date as the fourth Thursday in November in 1941.
It is also important to remember that for many Indigenous people Thanksgiving is a day of mourning. Groups gather each year in Plymouth to remember lost land, broken treaties and the long history of cultural suppression.
Thanksgiving means many things to many people. My hope is that it becomes a time for you to enjoy family, friends and loved ones. The work we do all year in our businesses is ultimately for the people we share our lives with.
Thank you again for being here. I appreciate you and I hope you have a wonderful holiday.
