Thanksgiving

The story of this oh so satisfying holiday is one that seems quite simple. Pilgrams come to America, they meet the Indians, exchange recipes and decide to have a feast, holiday created. However, there is more to this turkey tale than you may realize.

The Origins of the Holiday:
The Pilgrims travelled to America from England aboard the Mayflower in the year 1620. Their intention was to land in the Hudson River Valley area (present day New York state), they instead landed further north in the Cape Cod area. Upon their arrival to America in December of 1620 the settlers endured a harsh winter that lost them nearly half of thier population. By the next fall the Pilgrims had made friendly connections with local Native Americans, the Wampanoags, who taught them to harvest corn and other crops. The fall harvest proved to be a fruitful one for the Pilgrims and they decided to give thanks to God by throwing a large feast. They extended the gesture to the Wampanoags and thier feast lasted for a total of 3 days. The dates of the original feast are not exactly known, with researchers suggesting it was between September 21st and November 11th.

The tradition of thanksgiving spread throughtout the colonies, however each colony recongnized the feast on different days. In October of 1777 all 13 colonies began to celebrate the feast on the same day. It was in 1789 that President George Washington declared Thanksgiving a holiday. It would not be nationally recongnized as a holiday for nearly a century.

It was not until the late 1800's that poet and editor of Godey's Lady's Book Sarah J. Hale lobbied to have the feast made a national holiday. Along with the help of President Abraham Lincoln, who was seeking to unite the union during the Civil War, and his Thanksgiving Proclamation, Hale succeeded and Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday (taking place on the last Thursday in November).

From 1939-1940 President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to move the holiday from the fourth to the third Thursday in November. His goal was to extend the Christmas shopping season. This caused a great deal of controversy and in 1941 it was decided by Congress that the holiday would fall on the fourth Thursday of November.

Presidential Turkey Pardons:
Every year before the Thanksgiving holiday, the President chooses 2 turkeys who will be spared from ending up on your dining room table. In a ceremony that takes place at the White House one official turkey is pardonned as well as an alternate gobbler.

The history of this tradition is not exactly known. One story theorizes that it was President Harry Truman who pardonned the first turkey in 1947. Another story suggests that it was President Abraham Lincoln who began the tradition when he pardonned his son Tad's pet turkey.
Where do these lucky birds go when they leave the White House? Well, for 15 (until 2005) they were sent to Kidwell Farm (a petting zoo at Frying Pan Park in Herndon, VA) where they lived in the "Turkey Barn".

Beginning in 2005 the birds began making their new home at Disneyland where they are named honorary grand marshalls of the park's Disney's Thanksgiving Day Parade. After the parade, the turkey's travel to the Disneyland Ranch.

Names for the pardoned turkey's are decided every year by the American people who are able to vote on the White House website.
2003- Stars and Stripes
2004- Biscuit and Gravy
2005- Marshmallow and Yam