But was it always so? The Real, Shocking History of Thanksgiving. This is far from the only piece of Thanksgiving history to be frequently misrepresented. However, the first instance of a Thanksgiving Day during the nineteenth century was in 1815 when President James Madison proclaimed a day to celebrate the end of the War of 1812. Share. Published on 11/21/2016 at 4:17 PM. Thanksgiving History. She is also the author of the popular nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb” Shutterstock. There’s a trick to avoiding Thanksgiving traffic. Sarah Josepha Hale, an American magazine editor, persuaded Abraham Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday. Martin Frobisher (c. 1535-1594) in Newfoundland held a celebration for arriving safely in the new world. The first Thanksgiving was a harvest celebration held by the pilgrims of Plymouth colony in the 17th century.. Thanksgiving history facts that made our jaws drop: Thanksgiving May Not Have Started in 1621 in Plymouth. The popular belief is that the first Thanksgiving celebration happened in the autumn of 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts when the colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared a harvest feast. As history professor Ken Albala explained in the San Francisco Chronicle, a "thanksgiving" was a practice with far different intentions and traditions than the gluttonous feast we associate with the holiday today.In fact, the event we point to as the first Thanksgiving wasn't even called as such. By Kevin Alexander. Here are more Thanksgiving ‘facts” that are not true. Many myths surround the first Thanksgiving. Ruth Hopkins, a Dakota/Lakota Sioux writer, biologist, attorney, and former tribal judge, breaks down the myths and facts about Thanksgiving and … Thanksgiving is a particularly American holiday. The biggest fact about Thanksgiving in the nineteenth century is it became an annual holiday in 1863. By Hunter Moyler On 11/28/19 at 9:00 AM EST. Thanksgiving Events & Things to do 2020. The earliest Thanksgiving in Canada was held in 1578. 5 Facts You Might Not Know About the History of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving History & Little-Known Facts. Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird of the United States. Thanksgiving Facts throughout History. Very little is actually known about the event because only two firsthand accounts of the feast were ever written. Since 1957, Thanksgiving Day has been held on the second Monday in October. The word evokes images of football, family reunions, roasted turkey with stuffing, pumpkin pie and, of course, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag, the acknowledged founders of the feast. In 1879, Thanksgiving in Canada was set on November 6, though the date still varied considerably. [6]