Stuffing, turkey and pie are just some of the foods associated with Thanksgiving; however, according to the Smithsonian, the history of the holiday dates all the way back to 1578 when the first known Thanksgiving service and dinner was held in Canada. The first American Thanksgiving historians believe took place in Maine. It was believed to be put on by the Popham colony in 1607. In that same year, the people that lived in Jamestown, N.Y. gave thanks for the safe arrival of new colonists to the new world. They also gave thanks three years later for the same thing. 

According to Britannica, in 1633, Massachusetts experienced a drought that destroyed a majority of their crops. When the pilgrims prayed, the rain came and replenished the fields. Not only did the rain come but Captain Miles Standish also arrived with lots of resources for the people. 

Since then, Thanksgiving festivals had been used to celebrate the fall harvest until 1789. In 1789, a member of the House of Representatives proposed that Thanksgiving that year would be used to celebrate the creation of the constitution and other monumental things at that time. 

After that, the next three presidents celebrated the holiday. According to the Smithsonian, the only president that opposed the idea of the holiday was Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson believed that Thanksgiving would cause conflict with the church, so he chose not to. 

The Smithsonian says, a significant factor in making Thanksgiving a national holiday was Sarah Josepha Hale. Hale was the editor of the Ladie’s Magazine as well as the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book. She was a strong supporter of Thanksgiving being a holiday and in 1827, she started to promote it in her articles and recipes that were published. People like governors, senators and presidents also received letters written by Hale to propose Thanksgiving. 

It took 36 years of debating, but in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that starting that year, the fourth Thursday of November would from then on be Thanksgiving. Now every November people come together, eat turkey and give thanks for what they have.