Sunday, November 20, 2016

Thanksgiving at the White House

                                  
 
Dwight Eisenhower
    

        Have you ever wondered how the national holiday began? 

 

          A woman author from New Hampshire, Sara Josepha Hale, was active in bringing to the attention of the American public, a day to give thanks. She had belonged to many socially active groups as well as benevolent societies. Ms. Hale also wrote for Godey’s Lady Book. She felt that with the abundant fall harvests of New England, there should be a common day of prayer instead of a different one for each state.



          Enter Abraham Lincoln and the symbolism of the United States, which alerted him to proclaim a national day of thanksgiving. On October 3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln established the last Thursday of November “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.”