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From
Sea to Shining Sea:
Thanksgiving Becomes a National Holiday
The
2004 online
Thanksgiving exhibition
by Peggy M. Baker,
Director & Librarian,
Pilgrim Hall Museum |
Today’s
Thanksgiving is an offshoot of 3 separate traditions.
One tradition is the harvest festival such as that held in Plymouth in the
autumn of 1621. The second
tradition is
the Puritan religious "Day of Thanksgiving"
called by a
religious leader in response to a special act of Divine Providence. The third tradition is
a special day of thanksgiving, called by a civic (not a religious)
authority, to celebrate a specific event, such as victory
in battle or the end of a war.
These three
traditions gradually combined in colonial New England. A
new custom was born: a special day of both prayer and of feasting,
celebrated in family groups, and proclaimed annually by the Governor in
thanks for general well-being and a successful harvest.
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“In New England, we may
notice, first, the day of Thanksgiving.
That day is dear to the heart of every son and daughter of
that favored region.”
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From Arts,
Customs and Manners of the Principal Modern Nations on the Globe
by Charles Goodrich. Hartford,
1837. |
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This New England custom was carried across the country as the United
States expanded westward in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War.
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