Being thankful first appears in Leviticus 7:12-15, in which God instructs Moses on how the Israelites should prepare and conduct their offering of thanks. William Tyndale created the word “thanksgiving” while translating the New Testament in 1526. Jesus always gave thanks while performing miracles and when talking to His Father. In every letter Paul wrote, he remembered to start each with a prayer and thanked God and his fellow followers. Being thankful and having gratitude is an essential theme in the Bible, and it has been used 139 times depending on the Bible you use. The term “thankful” appears 71 times, “give thanks” 73 times, and “thanksgiving” 28 times.
“The United States holiday of Thanksgiving is generally understood to be inspired by the harvest feast celebrated by the citizens of Plymouth Colony (later known as pilgrims) and the Native Americans of the Wampanoag Confederacy in the fall of 1621. Although there is evidence of earlier thanksgiving celebrations in the Americas by the Spanish in the 16th century and at the Jamestown Colony of Virginia in 1610, following what is known as the “starving times” of 1609, these are not recognized as the “First Thanksgiving”, a term coined by the editor Alexander Young in 1841 referring specifically to the account of the 1621 event as given by the Plymouth Colony’s chroniclers William Bradford (l. 1590-1657) and Edward Winslow (l. 1595-1655) in Mourt’s Relation (published 1622), the earliest work on the first year of the establishment of Plymouth Colony.” (Mark, 2020)
Over the years, Thanksgiving, like so many other holidays, has seen changes. Some are better than others, but Thanksgiving has tried to keep the gratitude mentioned in the Bible, family values, and traditions in tack. A visit to grandmother’s house, a huge turkey dinner, and religious services are still the norm. But as hard as people tried to preserve the old traditions, there were others sure to take over.
“The first Thanksgiving Day football game was played in Philadelphia in 1869. According to that year’s November 17 edition of the Evening Telegraph newspaper, “a foot-ball match between twenty-two players of the Young America Cricket Club and the Germantown Cricket Club will take place on Thanksgiving Day at 12 1/2 o’clock, on the grounds of the Germantown Club.” This game was played two weeks after Rutgers University defeated Princeton University on November 6 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in what is considered to be the first-ever football game. The Young America-Germantown game also occurred six years after President Abraham Lincoln declared the first fixed national Thanksgiving holiday in 1863.” (LoRé, 2018)
On Thanksgiving Day, 1934, the Detroit Lions played their first professional game against the Chicago Bears, and a new tradition was born. The Lions and the Bears game, then the Cowboys and the Browns in 1966, became go-to games for Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. This started because the Puritans wanted to have at least one special day separate from Sunday to give thanks for all their blessing. It was placed on Thursday so as not to interfere with the Catholic tradition of fasting and the need to prepare for the Sabbath on Sunday. Thanksgiving has grown to be a worldwide event celebrated on different days for many reasons. But the theme of thanking God for our abundant blessings and the beautiful lives He allows us has remained constant.
LoRé, M. (2018, 11 21). A History of Football on Thanksgiving. Retrieved from The Culture Trip: https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/a-history-of-football-on-thanksgiving
Mark, J. J. (2020, 11 25). World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from Thanksgiving Day: A Brief History: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1646/thanksgiving-day-a-brief-history/