Happy Thanksgiving!

Americans celebrate their 151st Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, November 27, 2014. A great amount of credit for this day of celebration belongs to the Wampanoag Indians, who are believed to be the co authors of the holiday, along with some of the residents of the Plymouth Colony in fall of 1621. Through the years since that first harvest celebration, the number of people with English ancestry has grown to a whopping 24.5 million in the United States, while the Wampanoag tribe has only about 6,500 members, with around half of them still living in the Massachusetts area.

Though President Washington probably celebrated Thanksgiving, it was not a National holiday until President Lincoln declared it so in 1863. At that time, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last Thursday of November. During Franklin Roosevelt’s Presidency, it was declared that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the 4th Thursday in November to allow for an extended shopping season in years that have five Thursdays in November.

This year, it is anticipated that 242 million turkeys will be raised in the United States, with the majority being in Minnesota and Tennessee’s neighbor, North Carolina. While seafood and venison were likely the foods of choice for the very first Thanksgiving, this year it is expected that around 46 million turkeys will be the highlight of the Thanksgiving fare.

Wherever the location, whomever the guests and whatever the food of choice, a day dedicated to thanks and celebration for the blessings in life is a once in a year event and should be enjoyed to the fullest. From the Jefferson County Post Family to Yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

Source: K. Depew, News Director