Fun Facts: Thanksgiving History AmeriClean Newsletter - November 2008
The first Thanksgiving feast, held in the fall of 1621, most likely included venison, fish, clams, and boiled pumpkin.
The first national Thanksgiving was held in 1789, established by George Washington’s proclamation.
A woman named Sarah Josepha Hale, author of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” spent 40 years advocating for an annual national Thanksgiving day.
In 1863, Abraham Lincoln chose the last Thursday in November for the nation’s Thanksgiving celebration; subsequent presidents usually chose the same day, but were not required to do so.
To avoid possible confusion, Congress passed a 1941 law to keep Thanksgiving as an annual holiday occurring the fourth Thursday of every November.
