When did English Pilgrims and Native Americans sharing a feast turn into giant animal floats, turkeys being pardoned, football games and black Friday sells.
Have you ever wondered about where the traditions we celebrate come from. Lets take a look back at some of the touchstones celebrated during this American Holiday.
Official Thanksgiving holiday
This national holiday reportedly originated from President Abraham Lincoln, according to USA Today. In a 1863 proclamation the former president proposed that Thanksgiving be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.The holiday was moved up a week, to the third Sunday, by Franklin D. Roosevelt, decades later. Most report suggests it was an attempt to lengthen the time spent holiday shopping.
Despite the confusion, some states continue to celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of the month, which led congress to step in and pass a law declaring the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
A little over 60 years ago, a new holiday tradition was born, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Debuting in 1924, the parade has gone from actual animals from the Central Park Zoo to ballooned characters such as Spongebob Squarepants and Snoopy, according to Macys.com.
Football
What's Thanksgiving with a football game. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, the tradition started with the Detroit Lions. In 1934, the Lions played the Chicago Bears, losing the game 19-16. The game held over 26,000 seats and was broadcast nationally on NBC Radio. The Lions continued with the tradition, playing a game on Thanksgiving Day every year since 1945.
Turkey pardoning
According to a 2011 blog post on the White House website, President George H.W. Bush was the first to pardon a turkey in 1989. The turkey was sent to Frying Pan Park in Herndon, Va. Other reports President John F. Kennedy or President Richard Nixon were among the first to turn away turkeys, sending them to a farm.
Black Friday
The Thanksgiving holiday weekend isn't complete without black Friday. According to Harvard historian Nancy Koehn, on Marketplace.org, the day after Thanksgiving was called Black Friday by factory managers because so many workers called in sick, in the 1950s.In the 1960s, the Philadelphia Police Department continue calling the day Black Friday to describe the traffic jams, crowds and shoplifters. Black Friday signals the start of the holiday shopping season.
Macys, will open their doors on Thanksgiving Day for the first time in its 155-year history
"The reason for wanting to do this is whoever opens first wins this huge pot of people waiting to do their Christmas shopping," said Jean-Pierre Dube, marketing professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. "It wouldn't surprise me two years from now if people start their Black Friday sales on Wednesday."