The 1961 Pilgrims Thanksgiving feast lasted 3 days and occurred sometime between September 21 and November 1. Guests included 50 surviving pilgrims and about 90 Wampanoag Indians. The pilgrims actually first landed in Provincetown and not Plymouth Rock, where the first colony was started. The first Thanksgiving in America was in 1541 when Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and his expedition held a thanksgiving celebration in Palo Duro Canyon, now the Texas panhandle.
President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving holiday in 1863 and it has been observed annually every since. President Franklin Roosevelt moved thanksgiving to the next to last Thursday in November to prolong the holiday shopping season. However many Republican lawmakers rebelled and insisted on the last Thursday of the month. For a while the holiday was celebrated on two dates. Now it is the 4th Thursday. In 1941 Congress sanctioned Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
The first Thanksgiving day parade was in 1920 with Gimbels Department store in Philadelphia. The Macy’s parade began in 1924.
Black Friday got its name because stores hoped the day would bring them out of the red and into positive profits. Black Friday has been a tradition since the 1930’s. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
If you are thinking about putting your house on the market and need help call me Janice Hall at 201 232 8577.
