The practice of calling for national days of fasting and prayer was abandoned from 1784 until 1789, even though thanksgiving days were observed each fall. On October 3, 1789, President Washington called for a national day of prayer and thanksgiving to be observed on Thursday, November 26, 1789; this was an extension of the tradition of thanksgiving which was already customary in New England. President Adams continued the practice of proclaiming national days of prayer in the spring and fall, but President Jefferson did not, as he considered prayer to be a matter for personal rather than state involvement.