Sarah Josepha Hale campaigned for a national thanksgiving holiday in the United States during the 19th century, eventually winning President Abraham Lincoln’s support in 1863. He and subsequent presidents proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving annually until 1942, when a presidential proclamation
In Canada, Parliament established a national Thanksgiving Day in 1879.
Colonists in New England and Canada regularly observed “thanksgivings,” days of prayer for such blessings as safe journeys, military victories, or abundant harvests. Americans model their holiday on a 1621 harvest feast shared between the Wampanoag people and the English colonists known as Pilgrims. Canadians trace their earliest thanksgiving celebration to 1578, when an expedition led by Martin Frobisher gave thanks for its safe passage.
