Forefathers' Day

American  

noun

1. the anniversary of the day (December 21, 1620, in Old Style December 11) on which the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Mass. Owing to an error in changing the date from the Old Style to the New, it is generally observed on December 22.

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Etymology

Origin of Forefathers' Day

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

Plymouth Rock, however, was at first more directly tied to a different occasion: Forefathers’ Day, or Landing Day, on December 22, commemorating the debarkation of the Mayflower passengers in 1620.

From Time • Nov. 25, 2014

Men had celebrated "Forefathers' Day" for many years, but as women were never invited to join in their festivities, Mrs. Devereux Blake introduced the custom of women having a dinner in celebration of that day.

From Eighty Years and More; Reminiscences 1815-1897 by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady

For though the children were not with the explorers when they landed from the shallop on Forefathers' Day, they came five days later in the Mayflower itself.

From Old Plymouth Trails by Packard, Winthrop

The President of the Society, Judge Horace Russell, introduced Dr. Talmage to speak to the toast, "Forefathers' Day."

From Modern Eloquence: Vol III, After-Dinner Speeches P-Z by Various

We give an outline of one of his addresses on Forefathers' Day, delivered December 22d, 1882, in response to the toast, "The Half Moon and the Mayflower."

From Toasts and Forms of Public Address for Those Who Wish to Say the Right Thing in the Right Way by Pittenger, William