Give Thanks

BeansTalk loves Thanksgiving. It's the only time of the year we eat turkey, because we don't like it otherwise (okay, admittedly, this is just the ME talking, the rest of the staff is good with turkey). As we look forward to welcoming Thanksgiving guests into our home at noon (and the most exciting part -- decorating for Christmas that afternoon), we thought we'd offer up some Thanksgiving history and trivia, accented with (as you might have noticed we love antique postcards) images of Thanksgiving past, courtesy of vintage ephemera.

We're going to be dark this four-day holiday weekend, but will be returning Monday, 27 November. Here's more than you ever thought you'd like to know about Turkey Day.

How Thanksgiving was Declared a National Holiday:

Several people wanted to have an official day of thanksgiving, including George Washington, who proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789. Several people did not want it including President Thomas Jefferson.

Sarah J. Hale, a magazine editor, urged President Lincoln to reinstate Thanksgiving Day.

In 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.

Every President since Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving Day. But in 1939, 1940, and 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Thanksgiving the third Thursday in November to lengthen the holiday shopping season. This upset people.

It was not until 1941, that congress declared Thanksgiving as a national holiday. It was declared to be the fourth Thursday in November.