The celebration of Thanksgiving Day in November has become a much anticipated holiday for Americans and it has come a long way from those first celebrations in 1622. The story of the Pilgrims coming to American is a story in itself. I have studied that history and have books written about it because two of the ancestors of my children on their father’s side came over on the Mayfl ower.

Governor Bradford wanted to celebrate the ending of harvest with a day of feasting and thanksgiving so this day became a common thing in other New England settlements as well. During the American Revolution the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving in November of each year.

In 1789, George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving Proclamation by the National Government in the United States. He called upon Americans to express their gratitude for their happy conclusion of the country’s war of independence and the successful ratifi cation of the U. S. Constitution. In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday. The American South remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition.

In 1863, President Lincoln, at the height of the Civil War, issued a proclamation entreating all Americans to ask God to send His tender care to all orphans, widows and mourners in the civil strife and to heal the wounds of the nation. He scheduled Thanksgiving for the fi nal Thursday in November and it remained on that day until 1939 when President Roosevelt moved the holiday to the fourth Thursday in November.

Parades and football games are now an important part of the holiday.

In my youth, Thanksgiving was almost as important as Christmas because relatives came from far and near and if the weather was cold enough, it was a day for butchering a hog or young calf. The relatives helped to dress the meat and there was sausage making, ribs, backbone and other parts of the animal gotten ready to preserve. All the relatives got to take home some part of this prized and very welcomed food. Also there was the big meal. Mom made the best sage dressing. I have tried to duplicate that over the years and have not been able to do so. My job was to stir. I became quite good at that when I worked in the kitchen with her. That seemed to be my job while living at home. And I still do not know how to cook, but I am good at stirring.