--- title: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the History of Thanksgiving description: A few facts about the history of Thanksgiving that just might give you a few more things to be thankful for this season. canonical: https://time.com/3607887/thanksgiving-history/ author: Diane Tsai article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-26T17:55:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:02:09.781Z article:section: History og:title: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the History of Thanksgiving og:description: A few facts about the history of Thanksgiving that just might give you a few more things to be thankful for this season. og:url: https://time.com/3607887/thanksgiving-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt791301b52b8214fb/69876b4b5f570f2bafb13d48/thanksgiving_history_1280.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4036 og:image:height: 2270 og:image:alt: First Thanksgiving Dinner Illustration og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the History of Thanksgiving twitter:description: A few facts about the history of Thanksgiving that just might give you a few more things to be thankful for this season. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt791301b52b8214fb/69876b4b5f570f2bafb13d48/thanksgiving_history_1280.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Things You Didn't Know About the History of Thanksgiving > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=fa832f2d-0ce7-43ea-8d21-4e4683a56e91&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=fa832f2d-0ce7-43ea-8d21-4e4683a56e91&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the History of Thanksgiving [Watch (HLS stream): 5 Things You Didn't Know About the History of Thanksgiving](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1nM4dSof.m3u8) (1:44)  _Published 2014-11-26. If not for some fortunate circumstances, Thanksgiving could've been a holiday of fasting — rather than feasting — every fourth Thursday of November._  by [Diane Tsai](https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/)  ## Diane Tsai Nov 26, 2014 5:55 PM UTC  by [Diane Tsai](https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/)  ## Diane Tsai Nov 26, 2014 5:55 PM UTC If not for some fortunate circumstances, Thanksgiving could have been a holiday of fasting — rather than feasting — every fourth Thursday of November. And though it’s a well-cherished occasion today, it was met with some disapproval in past centuries. In the video above, we present you with a few facts about the history of Thanksgiving that just might give you a few more things to be thankful for this season. ## Transcript If the Pilgrim's had their way, we'd be fasting rather than feasting every year on the fourth Thursday of November. Luckily for us, some changes happened over the past few centuries to make Thanksgiving the holiday we know today. The devout settlers at Plymouth rock initially planned on giving thanks for their first fall harvest through prayer and abstaining from food. But the Wampanoag Indians had a different idea of celebration, which included dancing, games, and feasting. While the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621, it would take more than 150 years before all 13 colonies celebrated Thanksgiving at once. Still, some presidents weren't fans. Thomas Jefferson called Thanksgiving the most ridiculous idea ever conceived. And it took a 17 year letter writing campaign from a magazine editor to finally convince Abraham Lincoln to issue a decree recognizing the historic tradition. Finally in 1941 Thanksgiving became the leading holiday that consistently followed the fourth Thursday of November. Thanksgiving's date returns to the traditional fourth Thursday in November. And as for the presidential turkey pardon. There is some dispute over who really started it. Abraham Lincoln is said to have saved a turkey at the request of his son while Harry Truman is shown with one here. There's actually no proof he ever pardoned one. That leaves George H. W. Bush who appears to be the first President to have officially pardoned a turkey in ceremony. Although Thanksgiving's traditions have changed, one thing's for sure. 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