1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:13,990 Turkey, pumpkin pie, family, football and parades. 2 00:00:13,990 --> 00:00:20,989 Where did these traditions come from and how did they become a part of the national holiday we call Thanksgiving? 3 00:00:20,989 --> 00:00:26,989 To understand the origins of this holiday, we must take a look back at the origins of our country itself, 4 00:00:26,989 --> 00:00:30,989 particularly at the Plymouth Colony and its crucial first year. 5 00:00:30,989 --> 00:00:37,950 year. In the fall of 1620, the cargo ship Mayflower transported a group of 102 English men, 6 00:00:38,350 --> 00:00:43,649 women, and children to the New World. A portion of this group were separatists, people who had 7 00:00:43,649 --> 00:00:48,590 religiously separated themselves from the Church of England and wanted to come to the New World 8 00:00:48,590 --> 00:00:53,530 to find religious freedom. In time, these people would come to be known as the Pilgrims. 9 00:00:54,570 --> 00:00:59,630 The Mayflower arrived at the New World in December of 1620, weeks later than they had 10 00:00:59,630 --> 00:01:04,829 originally hoped and landing much farther north than they had planned, putting them in present-day 11 00:01:04,829 --> 00:01:11,150 Massachusetts. These unfortunate circumstances made for a particularly harsh winter. Nearly half 12 00:01:11,150 --> 00:01:17,689 the colonists died and those who did not fell ill. As the spring of 1621 approached, the luck 13 00:01:17,689 --> 00:01:24,689 of Plymouth Colony began to change. The colony was visited by several local Indians, or Wampanoag 14 00:01:24,689 --> 00:01:32,870 people. One of these visitors was Tisquantum, otherwise known as Squanto. Squanto spoke English 15 00:01:32,870 --> 00:01:38,989 and showed the pilgrims how to use fish as fertilizer to grow crops on sandy land. He was 16 00:01:38,989 --> 00:01:46,090 their interpreter. He even chose to live among the colonists at Plymouth. By November 1621, 17 00:01:46,730 --> 00:01:51,629 things were looking up for the pilgrims. They had survived their first year in the New World 18 00:01:51,629 --> 00:01:55,129 and had a successful enough harvest to continue living there. 19 00:01:55,909 --> 00:02:01,810 The pilgrims collected their harvest, which could have included corn, pumpkins, squash, and some grain. 20 00:02:02,370 --> 00:02:05,969 They caught fish and gathered together wild fowl or birds, 21 00:02:06,329 --> 00:02:10,330 such as ducks, geese, and even wild turkeys to feast on in celebration. 22 00:02:11,009 --> 00:02:16,969 The mighty king of the Wampanoag people, Masa Soit, joined the pilgrims with 90 of his men. 23 00:02:16,969 --> 00:02:23,129 He also donated five deer to this great feast which lasted for three whole days. 24 00:02:24,110 --> 00:02:28,050 To the pilgrims, this celebration was not the start of a new holiday. 25 00:02:28,629 --> 00:02:34,909 It was a common harvest festival, much like the ones held in Europe every fall after a good harvest. 26 00:02:35,750 --> 00:02:43,610 On December 18, 1777, Washington held a national day of Thanksgiving to commemorate the defeat of the British Army at Saratoga. 27 00:02:44,289 --> 00:02:51,169 Through the remainder of the Revolutionary War, Washington proclaimed several national days of Thanksgiving to commemorate special days. 28 00:02:51,729 --> 00:02:57,629 By the end of the war, individual states, particularly in the North, had gotten used to having a yearly Thanksgiving day, 29 00:02:58,069 --> 00:03:03,330 though there was no official national holiday and the date of the feast would vary from state to state. 30 00:03:03,930 --> 00:03:12,610 Thanksgiving, as we know it today, was made possible largely by the efforts of a 19th century writer named Sarah Josepha Hale. 31 00:03:12,610 --> 00:03:18,930 She was America's first female magazine editor and author of the famous nursery rhyme, 32 00:03:19,349 --> 00:03:20,870 Mary Had a Little Lamb. 33 00:03:21,750 --> 00:03:26,909 During the Civil War, Hale was convinced that a national Thanksgiving Day would 34 00:03:26,909 --> 00:03:38,909 She wrote letters to governors and even to President Abraham Lincoln. 35 00:03:38,909 --> 00:03:51,349 A few days after receiving her letter, on October 3, 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring the last Thursday of November to be Thanksgiving Day. 36 00:03:52,090 --> 00:03:59,990 Year after year, Americans continued to celebrate this day of feasting and thanks, even though Congress had not yet ratified it as an official holiday. 37 00:04:00,669 --> 00:04:05,270 Over the years, the date seemed to coincide with the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. 38 00:04:05,270 --> 00:04:14,629 In 1924, Macy's department store started their Thanksgiving Day Parade, which route heads down the streets of New York and ends at the store. 39 00:04:15,150 --> 00:04:22,870 Also in the 1920s, the Detroit Lions came up with the idea of a Thanksgiving Day football game in order to boost dwindling attendance. 40 00:04:23,470 --> 00:04:28,629 It was not until 1941 that Congress finally made Thanksgiving Day a legal holiday. 41 00:04:29,189 --> 00:04:31,769 When they did, they moved the holiday up one week 42 00:04:31,769 --> 00:04:35,769 so the official day of Thanksgiving would be the fourth Thursday in November. 43 00:04:36,230 --> 00:04:39,790 This was done in an attempt to extend the Christmas shopping season. 44 00:04:40,509 --> 00:04:44,790 Today, more than anything else, Thanksgiving is about family. 45 00:04:45,649 --> 00:04:49,110 Though the way we serve our turkey and our pumpkin may have changed, 46 00:04:49,110 --> 00:04:54,370 and our entertainment varied over the years from archery and displays of arms 47 00:04:54,370 --> 00:05:01,250 to football and parades, Thanksgiving has become a welcome day of rest to spend with 48 00:05:01,250 --> 00:05:06,930 loved ones in recognition and appreciation for all the blessings for which we are thankful.