By Jocelyne La Fortune, Staff Writer -- lafortun12@up.edu
Thanksgiving: a holiday for family, friends and stuffing yourself full of as much delicious food as possible.
You probably learned in grade school about the heartwarming story of how the Pilgrims and Native Americans came together to enjoy a feast as friends.
According to history professor Mark Eifler, this story is pretty off-base.
"Thanksgiving actually originated as a harvest holiday, as a chance to give thanks for a good harvest that year," Eifler said. "It dates back to approximately the Middle Ages in Europe."
These Thanksgiving celebrations had a more religious tone than they do today, according to Eifler. This religiousness increased during the Reformation and the Counterreformation, when religious practices became more and more emphasized not only in the celebration of Thanksgiving but also in other aspects of daily life.
While the Thanksgiving celebrated at Plymouth Rock may have been one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in America, there is much scholarly debate about whether it was the first one.
"Many scholars believe that the first Thanksgiving in what is now America was celebrated at St. Augustine (Florida) with the Spanish," Eifler said.
In 1863, Abraham Lincoln called for a single-time Thanksgiving celebration, according to Eifler. It wasn't until 1941, during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, that Thanksgiving was made an annual national holiday. Thanksgiving was set as the fourth Thursday in November in order to differentiate the American holiday from the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, which falls on the second Monday in October each year. The Canadian Thanksgiving holiday was actually established before the American holiday.
According to Eifler, there have been several attempts to move Thanksgiving to an earlier date in order to make the holiday shopping season longer.
Thanksgiving has evolved over the years and has become for many a chance to reconnect with family and friends.
"Today, Thanksgiving is a pretty loose holiday since it doesn't really commemorate any events," Eifler said. "Families can make up their own traditions, and the holiday can change from year to year to remain relevant. You really can't get Thanksgiving wrong."
Although everyone has his or her own Thanksgiving traditions, some remain more prevalent than others. According to the National Turkey Federation, about 90 percent of Americans eat turkey for their Thanksgiving meals.
