Meaning of American Thanksgiving

November 27, 2014

MarkTab: Atlanta, GA

Thanksgiving

• Celebrated the fourth Thursday in November

• Where did it come from?

• Thanksgiving was important for three of America’s most popular presidents:• George Washington

• Abraham Lincoln

• Franklin D. Roosevelt

George Washington

• Set one day only to be Thanksgiving to God

• Many Americans were and are Christians

• Thanksgiving was not an annual holiday yet

Sarah Josepha Hale

• She was an American Author and writer: she wrote “Mary had a Little Lamb”

• Asked Lincoln to make Thanksgiving a Holiday in 1863

• Her actions helped unite Americans during the tough Civil War

Abraham Lincoln

• Made Thanksgiving an American Holiday in 1863

• President Lincoln worked hard for peace, and thanked God

Franklin Roosevelt

• On November 26, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt set the day to be the 4th Thursday in November

• He thought changing the date would help the economy

• Today many people shop this weekend

Plymouth, Massachusetts

• Many Thanksgiving stories talk about the Pilgrims in 1621

• They came to America to live a moral Christian life, free from politics and tradition

• Christians also thank God on Thanksgiving

Plymouth Rock

• Today you can visit the spot chosen to honor where the Pilgrims landed

Friends Gather

• We are thankful for friends

• We are thankful for family

• We are thankful for good food

• We are thankful to be free to live a moral life