Every year on the fourth Thursday of November, people across the United States gather to celebrate Thanksgiving. It is a day that brings families, friends, and communities together, but it is also a day shaped by a long and complicated history. In 2025, Thanksgiving will fall on Thursday, November 27.
The tradition traces back to 1621, when English settlers in Plymouth and the Wampanoag people shared an autumn harvest feast. This gathering is often remembered as one of the earliest Thanksgiving celebrations in what would later become the United States. It was a moment of cooperation, made possible by the Wampanoag, who helped the settlers survive their first harsh year.
For more than two centuries after that feast, various colonies and states held their own days of thanksgiving. It was not until 1863, during the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving Day. He chose the last Thursday of November as a moment for the nation to pause, reflect, and give thanks during one of its darkest periods.
But Thanksgiving is more than a story of shared meals and national tradition. It is also a holiday that sparks reflection and debate. Many Native Americans and others believe that Thanksgiving, as commonly celebrated, overlooks the painful realities that followed the early encounters between European settlers and Indigenous peoples. The history includes land loss, violence, and deep cultural disruption, and for many, those truths are inseparable from the holiday.
The Thanksgiving we know today began taking shape in the 19th century. Much of the credit goes to Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, who spent years advocating for a National Day of Gratitude. Her efforts eventually helped shape the holiday into an annual tradition. When Lincoln later declared two national days of thanksgiving in 1863, it was the November observance, created to give thanks for “general blessings,” that endured.
Today, Thanksgiving is a mix of traditions old and new. Some people gather for big family meals. Others volunteer in their communities. Many use the day to rest, reconnect, or simply appreciate the people around them.
At its best, Thanksgiving is a reminder of the values that matter most in a fast-changing world: gratitude, community, and the willingness to look at history honestly. It is a day that invites both celebration and reflection, honoring the past while encouraging us to build a more understanding and inclusive future.
