A legal holiday in all states, territories and possessions of the United States by annual proclamation of the President and governors of the states. “Of all the holidays observed in this country, there is none so distinctively American as Thanksgiving. It is a legacy of the Pilgrims, cherished because of the traditions that surround it”.

"The origin of the day is attributed to Governor Bradford of Plymouth colony. On Dec 21, 1620, the Pilgrims landed on the bleak coast of New England and passed the winter with great suffering and privation. In the spring seed was sown and its growth was watched with great anxiety, for on the result depends the lives of the colonists.

When the grain was cut and harvest was found to be abundant, there was great rejoicing, and the governor proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. He sent our four men in search of game, and they soon return with a large number of wild fowl, most of which were turkeys. It is doubtless due to this incident that the turkey has always been considered a necessary feature of Thanksgiving feasts. This festival lasted nearly a week and large party of friendly Indians including chief Massasoit, shared in the festivities”. 

George Washington (1732 - 1799)

 President Washington issued a proclamation in 1789 to honor the Constitution, appointing Thursday, Nov 26, “as the day of general thanksgiving for the establishment of a form of government that would make for safety and happiness...”.

President Lincoln issued the second presidential proclamation in 1864, appointing the fourth Thursday in November as a day of Thanksgiving with a view of having the day observed every year thereafter.

 The proclamations of the presidents make an interesting study, for as a whole they reveal the state of the nation year by year, reviewing briefly the things for which to be thankful not only in times of plenty and of crisis but in the seemingly uneventful years between . The famous ones are those of Washington, Lincoln, and Wilson( in 1918).

Thanksgiving continues to be observed by church services, family reunions, dinners, and home festivities.Canada has long observed a day of thanksgiving, which is proclaimed annually by the governor-general. The date, fixed by the proclamation, has not been uniform. It has coincided with Harvest in October, with Armistice Day, and with the Thanksgiving Day, and with the Thanksgiving date of the United States, but is now an October holiday, observed with religious services and family reunions and festivities

A Pan-American celebration was held in St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Washington, D.C, on Thanksgiving 1909 at the request of Cardinal Gibbons, and continued from year to year, with its twenty-fifth anniversary observed in 1933. It brings together in a religious function representatives of all the republics of the Western world.

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