Well get ready, set, GO. Its the Monday before thanksgiving, ye-ha, my top favorite holiday that happens to always land on the fourth Thursday of November.
Have you ever thought about that, why does thanksgiving always land on the fourth Thursday of November? Well I did and if you don't know why or how, then keep read'n.
OK, it all started wwwaaaaaaayy back in 1621 (386 years ago) when some of the second settlers (I call them that cause they wern't the first ones) got together to commemorate the harvest reaped after a really bad winter. The colonists celebrated it as a traditional "English harvest feast", and they invited the first settlers, the Wampanoag Indians.
After that days of thanksgiving were celebrated all over the colonies after fall harvests. However all 13 colonies did not celebrate thanksgiving at the same time until October 1777 (230 years ago, man thats still a long time ago) George Washington was the first president to declare the holiday in 1789 (218 years ago)
As time kept roll'n thru the mid 1800's, many states observed a thanksgiving holiday. In the meantime the poet Sarah J. Hale had begun lobbying for a national Thanksgiving holiday. And in 1863 (144 years ago) President Abraham Lincoln looking for ways to unite the nation, gave his Thanksgiving Proclamation, declaring the last Thursday in November a day of thanksgiving. Woo-who, my mouth is already water'n just thinking about all that punkin pie I'm a gonna eat. 8)
Now in 1939, 1940, and 1941 that F.D.R. (Franklin Delanor Roosevelt) look'n to lengthen the Christmas shopping season, proclaimed Thanksgiving the 3rd Thursday in November. Of course being the traditionalist we human beings can be, there was some controversy surrounding that move. So Congress passed a joint resolution in 1941 declaring that Thanksgiving should fall on the 4th Thursday of November, where of course it remains to this day.
A little side note that I found out last year regarding the voyage of the Mayflower. Did you know that the original expedition that set out from England contained 2 ships. Yep thats right 2 ships, of course the Mayflower being one, but I am curious can any one tell me the name of the second ship.
It never did reach its destination just over they set sail it started taking on a lot of water and it was forced to turn back. When arriving back in England it was soon discovered that repairs would ether take to long or they were to costly, so it was sold and the Mayflower sailed on into history by herself.
In closing, I would like to proclaim what I am thankful for. I am thankful for my God, my wife and kids, my health, my nation, my friends, and all of the things in life that I take for granted each and every day. Those that sacrificed for our nation and did not return, and those that did. My vehicle still runs, the roof we have over our heads. And I could just go on and on but I can't this post is longer than I usually like, so I am going to stop there and continue being thankful in silence.
Special bonus, those of you that comment with the correct answer: What was the name of the second ship that sailed on the initial trip to the colonies? will receive a..............
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