On this day: December 18
America celebrates its first official day of thanksgiving, "The Nutcracker" debuts, the first "Pink Panther" short premieres, the first nuclear power plant in America goes online, all on this day.
1777: The United States celebrates its first Thanksgiving, marking the recent victory by the Americans over Gen. John Burgoyne in the Battle of Saratoga in October. The date was set earlier in the year by the Continental Congress' "First National Proclamation of Thanksgiving." It would be just one of several thanksgiving days the Continental Congress would appoint during the American Revolutionary War, each time recommending to the executives of the various states the observance of these days in their states.
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