A time to reflect on all of our blessings, the Thanksgiving tradition is usually traced back to a harvest celebration between the pilgrims and Native Americans that took place in 1621 at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts. There is also evidence for an earlier harvest celebration on the continent by Spanish explorers in Florida during 1565, as well as thanksgiving feasts in the Virginia Colony (1619) prompted by the colonists' desire to give thanks to God on the anniversary of the settlement. The Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. In later years, the tradition was continued by civil leaders such as Governor Bradford who planned a thanksgiving celebration and fast in 1623. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln set a fixed date for Thanksgiving, in an effort to promote unity in a divided nation. Today, families gather on the fourth Thursday of November to share turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, football, and, of course, the annual Thanksgiving Day Macy's Parade.
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