I was doing a little bit of research this morning and found some interesting facts about Thanksgiving. Originally it was a national proclamation that had to be declared by the President and Congress. It was used then to celebrate victory over a foe. One of the first proclamations was in 1777 in York, Pennsylvania. These early Thanksgivings were days of prayer and thought. It was during the Civil War when Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. He was inspired to do so because of several editorials written by Sarah Josepha Hale. Lincoln made the last Thursday of November, Thanksgiving day. It was Franklin Roosevelt who changed the date to the fourth Thursday in November. Since then Thanksgiving has become more commercialized. It now marks the start of the holiday buying season. And of course there are parades that feature Santa Claus. One of the first Thanksgiving Day Parades was held in Philadelphia. It was sponsored by Gimbel’s Department Store. Now it is sponsored by a local television station and Dunkin’ Donuts. There are football games ranging from the local high school (the oldest high school football game is Northeast High School vs Central High School in Philadelphia) to the Detroit Lions. For me this year in particular Thanksgiving and Hanukah are at the same time. It makes for a very busy holiday. For more history on Thanksgiving Day please check the Wikipedia entry for Thanksgiving Day. en.wikipedia.org