Thanksgiving is the U.S. holiday of gratitude, observed on the fourth Thursday of November, which falls on Nov. 26 this year. Its roots go back to a harvest celebration in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in autumn 1621.
What happened in 1621? After a hard first year, the Plymouth colonists held a harvest celebration that lasted three days. About 90 Wampanoag men joined them, including leader Ousamequin, known to the English as Massasoit, whose people had agreed to mutual protection with the colonists earlier that year. Most of what historians know comes from a December 1621 letter by colonist Edward Winslow, one of only two first-hand accounts. He wrote that the harvest let them "rejoice together."
Was it called Thanksgiving then? Not at the time. The "First Thanksgiving" label came later, after Winslow's account was rediscovered in 1822. Puritan days of thanksgiving were solemn days of prayer, quite different from a three-day feast.
What was on the table? There is no full menu on record. Winslow wrote that the colonists went fowling and that the Wampanoag guests brought five deer, but his letter does not name turkey. Pumpkin pie was not part of the meal.
How did it become a national holiday? Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln called for national days of thanksgiving, and Congress fixed the fourth Thursday in 1941.
Thanksgiving is a national holiday rather than a church one, but many families begin the meal with prayer. Psalm 100:4 invites believers to enter God's gates with thanksgiving.
Related article: When Is Thanksgiving 2026? Nov. 26, the Same Date as Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving
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