"Mary Had a Little Lamb" Author Made Thanksgiving Possible

I know the title sounds weird. But as weird as it is, it is based on a historical fact--a fact you probably didn't know about Thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of the classic nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb", was an influential magazine editor in the mid-19th century. She also became known for her persistent campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. According to History, she petitioned for a national Thanksgiving holiday for close to 40 years, believing that "Thanksgiving, like the Fourth of July, should be considered a national festival and observed by all our people."

Well, all her hard work paid off when President Abraham Lincoln issued a "Thanksgiving Proclaimation" on October 3, 1863 and officially set aside the last Thursday of November as the national day for Thanksgiving.  78 years later, on December 26, 1941, the Congress finally made Thanksgiving Day an official holiday. The funny part is the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade tradition began in 1920's, long before the Thanksgiving Day was actually proclaimed as a national holiday itself.

Six years later, after Thanksgiving officially became an American holiday, the National Turkey Federation started a tradition, done annually up to date, of presenting a "live" turkey and two dressed turkeys to the President. The President, on the other hand, upon receiving the turkeys will not eat the "live" one and "pardons" it to live out its days on the historical farm.

Quirky, isn't it? I never even thought there was a federation built for turkeys. But perhaps, that's not something I should be surprise of. It was even our late President Benjamin Franklin who wanted the "turkey" to be the United States national bird. Well, that didn't happen though. Who knows why? But that's something the Bald Eagle should be thank for, right? As much as we should be thankful to Sarah Hale for giving one of our favorite holidays alongside Cyber Monday and Black Friday.

Way to go Sarah Hale! And make sure to "have a little turkey" on your Thanksgiving dinner!