SC - Thanksgiving-oop

[LrdRas@aol.com]

> reconsider my position on living in the States. We had our Thanksgiving a
> few weeks ago but its not the event you guys have.  .
> 
> Micaylah
> 
Thanksgiving in the States is for many people a four day holiday which
allows us a surfeit of food and football.

Historically, the first Thanksgiving was November 30, 1619 aboard the ship
Margaret which arrived in the New World approximately where Hampton,
Virginia is.  

The Pilgrims, with whom the holiday is closely associated, celebrated their
first Thanksgiving in 1621.  A curious aside is that the European settlers
were introduced to popcorn at this meal.

The first national Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by President Washington
for November 26, 1789, after which the custom languished.  

President Lincoln reinstituted the national Thanksgiving Day in 1863 and it
has been a regularly celebrated holiday since.

Now for the one which makes Thanksgiving weekend the gonzo event it is.  In
1939, Fred Lazarus, Jr., CEO of Federated Department Stores (commonly known
as Lazarus Department Stores) got President Roosevelt to move Thanksgiving
Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday in November to
extend the Christmas shopping season and help stir the U.S. economy.  In
other words, a four day weekend dedicated to shopping.

I'm curious about the Canadian Thanksgiving.  I know it was first celebrated
November 6, 1879 and that it was moved to a Monday in October in 1931, but
that is about all I know.  What does the holiday commemorate?

Bear 

  
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