"Shades of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians sit at every American's Thanksgiving table, along with those of [George] Washington, [Abraham] Lincoln, [Sarah Josepha] Hale, and others who have enriched our Thanksgiving tradition. . . "
There is no better example of Sarah Josepha Hale's sway as the preeminent cultural influencer of the mid 19th century than two traditions she introduced in the 1840s that continue to flourish in the 21st century: the white wedding gown and Christmas tree.
