Noah Webster described Thanksgiving as The act of rendering thanks or
expressing gratitude for favors or mercies, and it has been celebrated
nationally on and off since 1789. Governors of Massachusetts would
proclaim a local holiday of Thanksgiving, but it was Sarah J. Hale, the
editor of Godey's Lady's Book, who promoted a national day of
Thanksgiving. It was during the Civil War under the presidency of
Abraham Lincoln that Thanksgiving became a federal holiday in 1863.
By the late nineteenth century in Boston--now a thriving nexus of
ethnic, religious and racially diverse residents, and far more diverse
than the early Pilgrims could ever have expected--Thanksgiving began to
include ethnic foods and traditions which their ancestors brought to the
New World. Each group broadened the meaning of Thanksgiving and food
became a way of preserving one's background while assimilating into the
Pilgrim culture.
Though Thanksgiving today often is celebrated with food, football and
parades, it replicates the first thanksgiving held by the Pilgrims in
1621. In Boston, there was the annual Thanksgiving Day parade, held from
1929 to 1943. Thanksgiving Traditions in Boston is a compilation of
more of Boston's shared traditions and anecdotes, both traditional and
created.