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Sue  Routner-Wardley's avatar

Blessings to you. xx

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Laura Perry's avatar

And to you!

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juliette ashmoon's avatar

Hi Laura,

my uu minister told me that the pilgrims and the Indians Thanksgiving is a total myth. She said that Lincoln initiated a Thanksgiving Day after the Civil War. It's news to me but who knows. And yes whatever day it is we should be grateful.

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Laura Perry's avatar

The pilgrims-and-Indians narrative is indeed a myth, designed to perpetuate a colonialist and imperialist narrative and to make it sound like the Native American people are no longer around. Thanksgiving celebrations in general are common across a number of cultures, usually as harvest festivals and having nothing to do with any kind of colonialist narrative. That's the way my family celebrates it. The US version sprang from a bunch of different Thanksgiving celebrations that were held locally around the country before the Civil War, but was made official by Lincoln during, not after the Civil War, in 1863, after a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale sustained a one-woman letter-writing campaign to get him to institute it as a way to unite the nation.

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juliette ashmoon's avatar

Wow, I am so glad to learn important facts about history thank you and my Minister very much! Thank you for correcting me that happened during the Civil War not after. I will shout it to the rooftops but no one will believe me. I hope you had a happy turkey day! Take care.😊💜🦃

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Laura Perry's avatar

The exact date is listed on the Wikipedia page about American Thanksgiving Day, along with Lincoln's proclamation for the holiday.

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