Thanksgiving, or
Thanksgiving Day, is an important
public holiday, celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the
United States. It originated as a
harvest festival. Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789, after a proclamation by
George Washington. It has been celebrated as a
federal holiday every year since 1863, when, during the
American Civil War, President
Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens," to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November. Together with
Christmas and the
New Year, Thanksgiving is a part of the broader
holiday season.