1622 à
Pumpkin pie made its way to the table (although its ingredients were extremely
scarce).
1663 à
Cranberry sauce was introduced to the meal.
October 1777 à
ALL 13 colonies celebrated (for the FIRST time). This was to commemorate a victory over the
British @ Saratoga.
1789à
President George Washington declared a National Day of Thanksgiving (which several
citizens wanted). There were also
several in the US that did NOT want this day (including Thomas Jefferson – “the
most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard.”).
1827 à
Sarah Josepha Hale (a magazine editor and author of ‘Mary had a Little Lamb’)
campaigned for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday.
1863 à
President Lincoln made it a public holiday for the very first time. Up to this point, President’s would choose
whether or not to proclaim it and when to do so. Thomas Jefferson NEVER proclaimed it a
holiday. James Madison proclaimed it a
few times but NEVER in the fall.
President Lincoln – 1939 à
Each President during this time frame proclaimed Thanksgiving and declared it
celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November.
1924 à
The Macy’s Parade began with live animals (many borrowed from the Central Park
Zoo).
1934 à
GA Richards bought the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans, moved them to Detroit where
they became the Lions. Richards
scheduled a home game against the (defending champions) Chicago Bears. That SOLD-OUT game gave birth to the NFL on
Turkey Day.
1939, 1940 & 1941à
President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared
Thanksgiving to be the THIRD Thursday in November in order to extend the
holiday shopping season. (Surprisingly….this
just made people upset).
1941à
Congress OFFICIALLY voted Thanksgiving a National Holiday and declared that it
would be celebrated on the FOURTH Thursday in the month of November.
1947 à
President Truman began the tradition of the “Presidential Turkey Pardon”. He sent his pardoned turkeys to Frying Pan
Park in Herndon, VA. (The traditional
now involves TWO turkeys, in case the 1rst turkey becomes unavailable. US citizens actually vote on the name for the
pardoned bird). This year, President
Obama pardoned Courage and sent him off to live out his days at Disneyland.
1953 à
Swanson started creating TV dinners because they needed to do something with
260 tons of frozen turkeys leftover from Thanksgiving.
1955 à
Campbell’s introduced the green bean casserole to the annual meal.
1960’sà
“Black Friday” is said to have begun in Philly.
