Lincoln Declares Thanksgiving A National Holiday

I think most folks know the story of the origins of our modern Thanksgiving.  And some might know that President George Washington declared November 26th, 1789 as a day to give thanks.  After that, celebrations of thankfulness continued, but no official holiday was named.

Then President Lincoln – in an attempt to foster a sense of unity between the northern and southern states – declared Thanksgiving a national holiday to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November.  (Roosevelt later came along and changed it to the fourth Thursday for economic reasons.  So I guess you can thank Lincoln for Thanksgiving, and Roosevelt for Black Friday.)

Learn more about Lincoln by hitting the theaters this weekend and catching the movie!  Consider taking your older kids with you for an interesting history lesson!