From harvest prayers to football and parades — the making of a national ritual
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The Mythologised Meal
Every American schoolchild learns about the "First Thanksgiving" — a 1621 harvest feast shared by Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag people. The actual event bears little resemblance to the mythology. There was no turkey (likely venison and wildfowl), no pie, and no sense of founding a tradition. It was one of many harvest celebrations across colonial North America, never repeated the following year.
Harvest Festivals in Context
Harvest thanksgiving is not uniquely American. The Jewish Sukkot, Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Korean Chuseok, and German Erntedankfest all share the impulse to give thanks when food is secured for winter. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, individual colonies declared ad hoc days of thanksgiving — solemn religious observances responding to specific blessings, not annual holidays.
Sarah Josepha Hale's Campaign
The person most responsible for making Thanksgiving national is Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book. Beginning in 1827, she campaigned for thirty years through editorials, letters to governors, and appeals to five successive presidents. Her persistence paid off during the Civil War when Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November in 1863 — a unifying gesture during the nation's most divisive conflict.
The Modern Holiday Takes Shape
Turkey and the Table
Turkey was not confirmed at the 1621 meal, but by the 19th century it had become the default centrepiece — abundant, large enough for a family, and not needed for other agricultural purposes.
Macy's Parade and Football
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924 as a modest procession of employees through Manhattan. Giant helium balloons arrived in 1927, and the parade gradually became a televised national spectacle — over 25 million Americans now watch the broadcast, and its conclusion, with Santa arriving at Herald Square, unofficially opens the Christmas shopping season. Football's connection dates to 1876 (Yale vs. Princeton), with the NFL scheduling Thanksgiving games since 1920. For many families, the broadcast provides the afternoon's soundtrack while leftovers are assembled into sandwiches.
Controversy and Reflection
Since 1970, the United Tribes of New England have observed a National Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving at Plymouth. This counter-narrative has prompted many Americans to hold Thanksgiving in a more honest light. In 1939, Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up a week to extend Christmas shopping season, splitting the nation until Congress fixed it on the fourth Thursday in 1941.
Stripped of mythology and marketing, Thanksgiving endures because its core idea resonates: pause, gather with people you care about, share a meal, and express gratitude.