The past is full of echoes, but some are quieter
than others. On What You Didn't Hear, we bring
those echoes back to life, one forgotten day
at a time. So settle in as we take a deep dive
into the history behind the U .S.'s greatest
national holiday, Thanksgiving. The first national
Thanksgiving was proclaimed by President George
Washington on Thursday, November 26, 1789, after
a resolution from the first federal Congress.
While earlier harvest celebrations like the one
in 1621 are often associated with the holiday,
Washington's 1789 proclamation was the first
time a day of thanks was set aside for the entire
nation under the new Constitution. in sixteen
twenty one the pilgrims at plymouth colony and
the wampanoag people held a harvest feast sometime
between september and mid -november but this
was not a national holiday and the term thanksgiving
was not used at the time seventeen eighty nine
the first national thanksgiving took place on
november twenty sixth after george washington
issued a proclamation in response to the recommendation
for the first federal congress in eighteen sixty
three Abraham Lincoln would declare Thanksgiving
a national holiday to be celebrated annually
on the last Thursday of every November. In 1941,
Congress passed a resolution, signed into law
by FDR, officially declaring Thanksgiving to
be celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.
But this is the mainstream history of the U .S.
holiday and doesn't account for the less known
traditions and practices that have taken place
on Thanksgiving. For instance, Thanksgiving masking.
what was thanksgiving masking let's begin with
what it looked like in cities like new york in
the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen
hundreds on thanksgiving day you would see children
dressed in ragged adult clothes wearing masks
or smeared faces carrying out through the streets
asking at doors anything for thanksgiving they
might get apples pennies or candy one archive
example on november twenty sixth nineteen eleven
children ran rampant through manhattan Some wore
garish masks modeled after George Washington
and Uncle Sam. Others smudged their cheeks and
donned rags to look like hobos. The practice
went by names like Thanksgiving Masking or the
Ragamuffin Parade. The phrase ragamuffin captured
the spirit, children dressing up as poor beggars,
sometimes performing a trick, and sometimes begging
for treats. So while today we associate costumes
and candy with Halloween, in that era thanksgiving
had its own version of masked mischief why did
this tradition arise several overlapping lines
of history intersect first the idea of masking
and costume begging has long roots in european
folk traditions groups would go door to door
in disguise perform small shows or simply ask
for food and coin especially around harvest time
or winter festivals in the u s in the nineteenth
century especially in large immigrant populated
cities thanksgiving was becoming nationally celebrated
after abraham lincoln proclaimed a national thanksgiving
in eighteen sixty three children in dense neighborhoods
found space and freedom on that holiday to roam
the ragamuffin aspect children would dress as
hoboes in tattered clothes or cross -dress and
wear exaggerated masks both as play and parody
of poverty and social role reversal for example
one writer on thanksgiving masking said boys
frequently wore girls clothing spending their
afternoons gambolling in awkward mimicry of their
sisters the custom also had an economic element
after the harvest and before cold winter there
was more food and socially sanctioned ways to
redistribute small amounts to children or the
needy were culturally acceptable thus thanksgiving
masking can be seen as part carnival part ritual
redistribution and part children's misrule it
could be rowdy one article said thousands upon
thousands of children kept in the open air for
hours blasting horns riding horses and generally
enjoying themselves to the limit of their temporary
freedom the custom extended into early twentieth
century but in many places it faded out mid -20th
century as Halloween took over and city authorities
discouraged the disorder. As Halloween became
more commercialized and expanded, the niche of
Thanksgiving costume begging diminished. One
scholar argues that Thanksgiving masking was
a missing link between older European mask begging
and modern trick -or -treat. During the Great
Depression, the idea of children masquerading
as poor beggars seemed less appropriate. when
actual poverty was widespread newspaper pieces
in the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties
began to criticize the custom as cities grew
controlling the street mischief and children
roaming became more important the rise of organized
events like the macy's day thanksgiving parade
starting in nineteen twenty four gave a more
official face to thanksgiving Though the custom
faded, it helped shape the idea of children costumed
and visiting neighbors for treats, a concept
that would flourish at Halloween. So Thanksgiving
masking quietly influenced one of the most popular
traditions we see today. Also, it reminds us
that our holiday practices are not static. They
shift, they fade, and they get replaced, or get
absorbed into other celebrations. That's all
I have on this brief, special episode of What
You Didn't Hear About Thanksgiving. I hope you
have a wonderful Thanksgiving day filled with
great food and family or friends. As always,
thank you for listening. If you would like to
help my podcast grow, please leave a review on
whatever podcast platform you're listening on
and share with your history buff friends and
family. Thank you for joining, and until next
time, this is What You Didn't Hear. Happy Thanksgiving.