… The reason for the earlier Thanksgiving celebrations in Canada has often been attributed to the earlier onset of winter in the north, thus ending the harvest season earlier. Thanksgiving in Canada did not have a fixed date until the late 19th century. Prior to Canadian Confederation, many of the individual colonial governors of the Canadian provinces had declared their own days of Thanksgiving. The first official Canadian Thanksgiving occurred on April 15, 1872, when the nation was celebrating the Prince of Wales’ recovery from a serious illness. By the end of the 19th century, Thanksgiving Day was normally celebrated on November 6. However, when World War I ended, the Armistice Day holiday was usually held during the same week. To prevent the two holidays from clashing with one another, in 1957 the Canadian Parliament proclaimed Thanksgiving to be observed on its present date on the second Monday of October. Since 1971, when the American Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect, the American observance of Columbus Day has coincided with the Canadian observance of Thanksgiving.

Much as in Canada, Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. From the time of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln, the date Thanksgiving was observed varied from state to state. The final Thursday in November had become the customary date in most U.S. states by the beginning of the 19th century. Thanksgiving was first celebrated on the same date by all states in 1863 by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Influenced by the campaigning of author Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote letters to politicians for around 40 years trying to make it an official holiday, Lincoln proclaimed the date to be the final Thursday in November in an attempt to foster a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states. Because of the ongoing Civil War and the Confederate States of America’s refusal to recognize Lincoln’s authority, a nationwide Thanksgiving date was not realized until Reconstruction was completed in the 1870s.

On December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of Congress changing the national Thanksgiving Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday. Two years earlier, Roosevelt had used a presidential proclamation to try to achieve this change, reasoning that earlier celebration of the holiday would give the country an economic boost.

What I’m taking away from the discussion is that Thanksgiving was rather loosely celebrated at that point in history. Jefferson Davis decided that a revival of giving thanks was needed, so he made his proclamation. Lincoln then decided to do the same a bit later. Neither Jefferson Davis nor Lincoln nor George Washington actually originated the idea of setting aside a date to formally give thanks. Various days of giving thanks have been going on since the late 1500’s with 1621 being a commonly accepted starting date in America. The current date wasn’t set until 1941.

“Following a resolution of Congress, President George Washington proclaimed Thursday the 26th of November 1789 a day of ‘public thanksgiving and prayer’ devoted to ‘the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.’ Reflecting American religious practice, Presidents and Congresses from the beginning of the republic have from time to time designated days of fasting and thanksgiving…”

The article goes on to include the transcript of President Washington’s proclamation.

I am glad that our beloved President Jefferson Davis made a proclamation of thanksgiving in the Confederacy. However, the credit for a national day of thanksgiving should go further back to the inspiring Father of America who was also the inspiration for our Confederacy, President George Washington.

All that praying didn’t work, did it. Well, maybe next time.