This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. But in 1623, during a severe drought, the pilgrims gathered in a prayer service, praying for rain. When a long, steady rain followed the very next day, Governor Bradford proclaimed another day of Thanksgiving, again inviting their Indian friends. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed.

紧接着的第二年(1622)却没有举行"感恩"庆典。到了1623年，发生了一场严重的旱灾，朝圣者们聚集到一起，举行了虔诚的祁雨仪式，刚好在第二天，一场充沛的大雨从天而降。威廉布雷德福总督宣布再次庆祝感恩节，并再次邀请了他们的印第安朋友。之后数年无感恩节，直到1676年6月，感恩节才再次被提出。

On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include the Indians, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives,"

1676年6月20日，马萨诸塞州的查尔斯顿政府委员会召开了一次会议，讨论如何才能最好表达对主的谢意：主赐予他们好运，庇佑他们安全地建立了他们的邦联。经过意见不统一的投票，由书记爱德华.劳森宣布6月29日为当年的感恩节。值得注意的是，因此次庆典在一定程度上是殖民者对战胜"野蛮的土著人"的庆祝，故印第安人极有可能未参加此次庆典。

October of 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.

1777年10月，13个殖民地第一次联合举办了感恩节庆典，这也是对萨拉托加一役中战胜英国人所取得的爱国主义的胜利的纪念。但只举行了这一年。

George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson scoffed at the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.

1789年，尽管出现反对的呼声，华盛顿总统还是宣布感恩节为全国性节日。在殖民地中也存在意见的分歧，不少人认为，仅仅一小撮朝圣者所经历的那些艰难困苦并不值得用一个全国节日来纪念。之后，杰弗逊总统还对这件事嗤之以鼻。

It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.

若没有萨拉·J·黑尔――一位杂志编辑的努力，最终就不会有我们现在所谓的感恩节。在她主编的"波士顿妇女杂志"及稍后的"Godey's 女士手册"中，她撰写了大量的社论，支持将感恩节定为全国性节日。40年中，她坚持不懈地发表评论，不断致信州长乃至总统，最后，理想终于变为现实：1863年，林肯总统发表声明，将11月的最后一个星期四定为感恩节――一个全国性的节日。

Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.

从此历届总统都按此行事。但具体时间也发生过几次变化。最近的一次是富兰克林·罗斯福总统宣布的。为开创一个更长的圣诞购物季节，罗斯福总统宣布将感恩节日期改在11月的倒数第二个星期四，即提前了一个星期。但公众反对呼声太高，两年后，总统不得不将感恩节日期改回到原来的时间。1941年，美国国会最终通过决议，将感恩节定为美国法定假日，的时间是每年11月的最后一个星期四。