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Early Celebrations Before the Pilgrims
While most Americans believe the first Thanksgiving holiday was held by the Pilgrims in 1621, history tells us that Thanksgiving festivals occurred in North America long before the Puritans ever arrived on American soil. Many native peoples held Thanksgiving celebrations, often centered around harvest time, like the Green Corn Dance of the Cherokees. A service of Thanksgiving was held in Newfoundland in 1578, and the Popham Colony in Maine conducted such a service in 1607. The Jonestown colonists likewise celebrated their safe arrival that same year.
How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday
Local celebrations continued sporadically for more than 150 years until October 3, 1789, when a chain of events, starting in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, led to President George Washington proclaiming that the United States would observe "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer" on Thursday, Nov. 26. But the establishment of our annual Thanksgiving holiday typically is attributed to Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Ladies Magazine and Godey's Book. Hale began agitating for an annual holiday in 1827, printing articles and recipes in the magazines and personally writing to countless governors, senators, and presidents. On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed that a national Thanksgiving holiday would be observed every year on the fourth Thursday of November.
The Evolution of the Thanksgiving Meal
And while most Americans have only ever known turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and pumpkin pie on their Thanksgiving tables, this was not always the case. The earliest Thanksgiving dinners included duck, chicken, and goose. That changed in the 1920s with an increase in commercial farming and active publicity and advertising by the broader turkey industry promoting turkey as the official meal of Thanksgiving. Rhode Island's Horace Vose sent the first Thanksgiving turkey to the White House in the early 1920s, and the National Federation of Turkey Farmers followed suit in the 1940s—a practice continued to this day (although now with a pardon for one special bird).
How Advertising Cemented Thanksgiving Traditions
Advertisers quickly jumped on the bandwagon, focusing on Thanksgiving ads featuring families around the table with a turkey as the centerpiece of their meal. Still others quickly began marketing various accessories related to a turkey dinner, including roasters, ranges, pop-up thermometers, and cooking bags. Thus, turkey was dubbed the official "main course" of Thanksgiving dinner.
Iconic Thanksgiving Trademarks and Their Lasting Legacy
No doubt fueled by the success of these campaigns, companies like Ocean Spray and Libby's quickly branded themselves essential to the holiday. Libby's, a nearly 200-year-old company, marketed its canned pumpkin for Thanksgiving pies as early as 1894 (it obtained federal registration in 1960). Its recipe for pumpkin pie debuted in 1929 and some version of that recipe has appeared on the can since. Ocean Spray's use of its brand to market cranberries as the "perfect" accessory to a turkey dinner dates back to 1921 (it was federally registered in 1997). Pillsbury registered its mark in 1959 claiming use on baked goods—including those Thanksgiving rolls—all the way back to 1873. And the Reddi-Whip that tops your pumpkin pie? It was registered in 1949 with first use of its mark in 1948.
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