Thanksgiving day

Earliest Celebration

1578

The earliest celebration was held in 1578, when an expedition led by Martin Frobisher held a ceremony in present-day Nunavut to give thanks for the safety of its fleet.

King Philip's War

1675

This was a rather disorderly affair, but it sealed a treaty between the two groups that lasted until King Philip's War in which hundreds of colonists and thousands of Native Americans lost their lives.

National day of thanksgiving

1863

During the Civil War , Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26

Day football

1876

Thanksgiving Day football games, beginning with Yale versus Princeton in 1876, enabled fans to add some rowdiness to the holiday

Parade

1920

Gimbel's department store in Philadelphia staged a parade of about 50 people with Santa Claus at the rear of the procession.

Proclamation

1942

Roosevelt issued a proclamation in 1942 designating the fourth Thursday in November (which is not always the last Thursday) as Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving Day

1957

Since 1957 Thanksgiving Day has been celebrated in Canada on the second Monday in October.