In October of 1863, just three months after the battle of Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November to be a National Day of Thanksgiving. One hundred and fifty-nine years later, we're still celebrating it annually.
Abe's proclamation harkened back to a similar effort from George Washington just a few short years after our nation emerged from the Revolutionary War. The father of our country found the roots of his action in a famous meal shared by Puritans and Native Americans in 1621.
