Thanksgiving Learning and Fun

We all know about the first Thanksgiving in 1621 and how the Native Americans and the Pilgrims shared a feast. But do you know how it actually became a national holiday?

After 1621, future Thanksgiving celebrations occurred at various times throughout the year. George Washington declared a feast of Thanksgiving in 1789, and presidents issued similar yearly proclamations after that. During the Civil War, poet Sarah Hale started a campaign to celebrate the holiday on the same day throughout the country.

President Abraham Lincoln saw it as a way to unite the country, and in 1863 he proclaimed a national Thanksgiving celebration on the last Thursday in November. It was changed from the last Thursday to the third Thursday by Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 as a way to lengthen the Christmas shopping holiday. In 1941, Roosevelt finally changed the date to the fourth Thursday in November, proclaiming it a Federal holiday in 1941.

I thought that was pretty interesting. I did not know it had been changed that many times. Throughout the month our family is going to be talking about what we are thankful for and learning more about the Thanksgiving holiday. We're making a trip to the library in the next few days and will be picking up some books related to the holiday and the history of it.

There are so many resources and ideas on the web for cute crafts and activities. I thought I'd share some that I found:

*If you're looking for some cute coloring pages, clip art, and other activities for you children to keep them busy on afternoons after school check out this link:
http://holidays.kaboose.com/thanks-color.html
There are lots of cute printables.

*The Family Fun website always has lots of cute things too. I especially liked these little pilgrim place cards:
http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/feature/famf117tabletop/famf117tabletop6.html

*I also thought this idea for "Harvest Blessing Snack Mix" was very cute. The link also has a free printable tag to include with it if you like:
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/thanksrecipes/a/thxblessmix.htm

*Ever wonder if your ancestors came over on the Mayflower? Take a look at this list and see if you can find any familiar names:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_passengers_on_the_Mayflower

Thanksgiving is one of those Holiday's that just quietly creep up on us.

What is one of your favorite things to do for the Thanksgiving Holiday?