Most relate Thanksgiving to the first known holiday feast of the Pilgrims in Plymouth, MA in 1621. Their three-day harvest event was celebrated along with members of the Wampanoag tribe. While this feast was notable, tribes all around had been honoring their crops for years before Pilgrims made it famous – including native tribes right here in New Jersey. In fact, there is a lot about Thanksgiving that began in the Garden State.
INDIGENOUS BEGINNINGS
The original inhabitants of New Jersey, the Lenni Lenape, had a variety of rituals for the harvest. The Green Corn Ceremony, held in late summer or early fall, sacrificed the first of the green corn crop to ensure the remaining crop would be successful. This was documented by the early European settlers to our area in the beginning of the 17th century. Historical information also indicates the Lenape took part in another harvest ceremony known as Gamwing, a renewal celebration of thanks. Both were known to be around 10-12 days long.
When it comes to a National Day of Thanksgiving, President Abraham Lincoln famously proclaimed during the Civil War in 1863 for it to be celebrated in every state across the country. But it was nearly 100 years earlier that a Congressman from New Jersey had sparked the idea!
Elias Boudinot was serving in the House of Representatives when, in September 1789, he requested that George Washington declare a national holiday of Thanksgiving. Some disagreed, citing it was not the government’s place. But others felt it was needed, to give thanks for the new Constitution and government of the United States. Washington went ahead and issued a proclamation on October 3, 1789, which designated a day of thanksgiving and prayer to be held the last Thursday in November (the 26th that year). Many across the country celebrated, but it was not legally mandated, and some states chose to ignore it.
New Jersey was not one of them. Princeton Historical Society has on file signed proclamations for Thanksgiving observance from Governor Charles Olden (who served from 1860-1863). In1861 he wrote:
“While under the rod, and suffering merited chastisement for our many national sins, let us now forget the many unmerited blessings that are yet spared to us. Lest they too be withdrawn. That we may give meet and united expressions to our gratitude I recommend that Thursday the twenty-eighth day of November instant be observed by the people of the state as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty G-d from whom cometh every good and perfect gift, and that abstaining from all needless secular employment, they assemble in their several places of worship to offer to Him the sacrifice of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving.
Given under my hand and private seal this first day of November AD, eighteen hundred sixty-one.”
A year later, on November 3, 1862, Olden signed another proclamation. Both mark the holiday as a religious one, telling people to give thanks to Jesus Christ and assemble in places for public worship.
During Lincoln’s presidency the following year, he made it a mandatory (though not religious) national holiday. It was Teddy Roosevelt, in 1906, who officially declared it shall fall on the third Thursday of November each year.
THANKSGIVING AND FOOTBALL
Not too long after Lincoln’s proclamation, the Princeton–Yale football game became a cherished Thanksgiving tradition. It was years before the NFL made their mark on the holiday. The first game was held in 1876 in Hoboken. The following year it moved into New York City. Anyone who was anyone would attend – the event made front page news of the New York Times! 1893 became the last game between these rivals on Thanksgiving Day, as Yale objected to students playing on a holiday and moved it to Saturday.
But the tradition of pigskin and turkey-day was not lost altogether. One annual meet-up began locally in Hamilton in 1959, Steinert High School vs. Hamilton High School West. Though Steinert has shut them out for the past three years, Hamilton leads the series 37-27 (with one tie in 1989). Last year there was a crowd of over 1,200 spectators. We’ll see what this year holds, at 10:30am at Hamilton West.
CEREMONIAL PROCESSION
Another tradition American’s think began in New York City is the annual parade, though it was not started by Macy’s. The very first Thanksgiving Day parade took place in Philadelphia, put on by Gimbels Department Store in 1920. That parade continued for 66 years, taking its final bow when the store went out of business in 1986. Macys began its spectacle in 1924 and has remained the preeminent parade. But right here in Mercer County, Trenton had a line-up of its own. The late 1950s and 1960s saw Broad Street filled with dancers, Santa on a fire truck and more.
Another procession of sorts in the streets that has become synonymous with Thanksgiving is the Turkey Trot. The first known in Mercer County that continues today was the Trinity Turkey Trot, initiated in 2008. Today there are three major Turkey Trots across Mercer. We delve into their history, meaning and longevity in the article The Meaning of the Annual Turkey Trot. But here, we’d like to share more about how they have become an important part of the celebration of Thanksgiving.
“I have been running the Trinity 5k Turkey Trot for as long as I can remember. What started as just a fun way to burn some extra calories before the big feast, has grown into a family and friends’ tradition. This year my youngest nephews are joining for the first time along with their dad (my brother). What I love most about the Turkey Trot is seeing so many familiar Princeton faces, all coming together to support the local food pantry, get in a little exercise and extend warm wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving,” shares Princetonian Barbara Majeski.
Some Turkey Trots bring together smaller communities and for nearly 20 years, Princeton’s Johnson Park Elementary School has held its own (just before the holiday break). Initiated by Physical Education teacher Steve Hennessy, it started as a one-miler for the older students with an “admission fee” for each class to bring 30 food items that would be donated to a food pantry.
“On the day of the Trot, a first-grade teacher, Bonnie Walker, brought her class outside to the finish line to cheer on the upper-grade runners. They held encouraging signs and cheered their older peers to success. The next year, several classes joined Bonnie’s children. For the following year, we engaged all our pupils as runners in the Trot (with a shorter distance for our youngest runners). And each class or grade came prepared with a sign or chant to support everyone’s participation. By the fourth year, the Turkey Trot achieved signature by-event status as a school tradition, with all kids and many staff members and parents running,” recalls retired Johnson Park Principal Bob Ginsberg.
The event grew, with parents in attendance as each class presented an original song or skit. Additionally, every year, one staff member would dress in a turkey costume, and students would spend the morning guessing who was inside.
OTHER LOCAL TRADITIONS FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS
Beyond the trots, others around Princeton may recall the annual thrill of Santa’s arrival on Black Friday.
“The day after Thanksgiving, every kid in the neighborhood/Princeton area would go to the Princeton Shopping Center parking lot to wait for the arrival of Santa via helicopter. I used to ask my brothers how the chopper had enough gas to fly from the North Pole to Princeton! They would say don’t be silly, it is Santa Claus, and he can do anything! As soon as we saw the spec in the sky and heard the whirring of the blades, it was uber enchanting and too exciting. It was like a combination of rock star, Wizard of OZ and the second coming from the mythical man coming with GIFTS!” Princeton Board of Education member Adam Bierman shares.
For many locals it is the people and spirit of Thanksgiving that have stuck with them over the years.
“During my 21 years as a police officer, many of those years involved working on Thanksgiving. While being away from my family on a holiday was always difficult, the day was shared with my police family,” remembers Princeton Police Department Chief Matthew Solovay. “Each of those years, the officers would contribute something toward a large Thanksgiving meal that we enjoyed together at police headquarters. Sharing that time and tradition with fellow officers made the separation from home a little easier and remains some of my most meaningful local Thanksgiving memories here in Princeton.”
Area residents additionally have fond memories of annual backyard Turkey Bowl football games, kickball at Grover Park, kids jumping in the leaves, the smell and taste of fresh hot buttered rolls, running in Rocky Hill, annual hikes at Institute Woods and spending time with a houseful of extended family.
However you celebrate this year, make memories that can go down in the history books too.
Lisa Jacknow spent years working in national and local news in and around New York City before moving to Princeton. Working as both a TV producer and news reporter, Lisa came to this area to focus on the local news of Mercer County at WZBN-TV. In recent years, she got immersed in the Princeton community by serving leadership roles at local schools in addition to volunteering for other local non-profits. In her free time, Lisa loves to spend time with her family, play tennis, sing and play the piano. A graduate of the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Lisa was raised just north of Boston, Massachusetts but has lived in the tri-state area since college. She is excited to be Editor and head writer for Princeton Perspectives!