Thanksgiving first started in 1620 with the Mayflower pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe. When the Mayflower arrived 66 days later after crossing the Atlantic ocean, many of the passengers were sick from exposure, scurvy and contagious diseases. The Wampanoag tribe, thanks to an Abenaki Indian and Squanto a member of the Pawtuxet tribe, stepped up to help the tribe. Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to extract sap from maple trees, cultivate corn, and avoid poisonous plants, according to history.com.  Though typical Thanksgivings today feature the traditional fare of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, the first Thanksgiving had venison and with no sugar to create something sweet, there were no pumpkin pies either. Though the first Thanksgiving was a wonderful start to a tradition, it also varied in that the first was a 3-day feast with everything from duck, swan, and goose to shellfish, lobster, and pumpkin. They also had their staple of life, corn, at the feast, which is about the only crossover to today’s Thanksgiving.

In 1789, George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation—he called upon the American people to rejoice in their independence and to give thanks and gratitude for the conclusion of their first war, according to history.com. Several states decided to adopt a state Thanksgiving holiday, but the majority of the southern states were still unfamiliar with the practice of Thanksgiving. Sarah Josepha Hale, an author and magazine editor famous for “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” started campaigning to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Eventually Abraham Lincoln conceded and honored her request. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln made a proclamation that told all of the Americans to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife … to heal the wounds of the nation.” The schedule for Thanksgiving was the last Thursday of the month of November, until Roosevelt tried to change the day to a week earlier, to give consumers more time to shop and attempt to counteract the Great Depression. It was changed back 2 years later after a lot of backlash.

Nowadays, Thanksgiving is typically spent with family members, feasting on turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and lots and lots of pies. Though it started as a religious holiday, Thanksgiving has separated from its religious beginnings, but is just as meaningful for many families today. One of the greatest traditions today is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and though parades have nothing to do with Thanksgiving, it is an extremely important part of Thanksgiving for many families. And, a recent tradition has begun with the president of the United States; every Thanksgiving, the president pardons a turkey or two and sends them to a farm instead of sending them to the slaughter.