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| Many people have told me that thanksgiving was initiated by the pilgrims, and that they made this day to become a tradition.
They didn't.
They just celebrated thanksgiving one time to thank for the founding of their settlement.
Those who kept a day to honor the first pilgrims did this at december 21 or 22 on a day called "Forefather's Day". It was a day to remember the roots of their family.
Some presidents granted a one day holiday to gather for thanksgiving, a harvest celebration like it was celebrated in the countries of origin, but it wasn't a tradition.
One woman, Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale, held the idea close to heart. She tried to start a national tradition in 1827 and asked the president for a holiday, but she didn't succeed for almost half a century.
Finally Abraham Lincoln, in 1863 proclaimed Thanksgiving a yearly day of Thanksgiving at the last thursday of november.(see text below). He was inspired by the anchoring of the Mayflower at Cape Cod at 11-21-1620 according to the modern Gregorian calendar (, which is november 11th according to the Julian calendar which was used by the Pilgrims).
In 1941 the american congres decided to move the date to the third thursday of november, thus granting an idea of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who reasoned in 1939 that the date was too close to Christmas and was thus interfering with profitable bussiness.
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