[Note:  I would like to note at the outset that this will probably be my last note for a couple of days, as I will be on the road tomorrow celebrating Thanksgiving with my own relatives in Georgia.  Unless something needs particularly urgent attention, I will post again upon my return on the day after Thanksgiving.]

There are quite a few articles and commentaries on the web that explain the religious importance of the American civil festival of Thanksgiving and its origin in the biblical festival of the Feast of Tabernacles as it applied to the experiences of the Pilgrims, among whom are some of my own ancestors.  I will not attempt to duplicate such work here, but will note it below for those interested to read (with appropriate thanks to the authors of these fine articles, Mr. Gerald Aust and Mr. Mario Seiglie):

http://www.ucg.org/commentary/thanksgiving.htm

http://www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn91/is-thanksgiving-rooted-in-a-biblical-festival.htm

What I wish to discuss today is more the reason why we celebrate Thanksgiving on the day we do, by briefly examining the political history of Thanksgiving celebrations within the United States.  The vital history of such proclamations and their context is often forgotten as we sit around a table with loved ones eating turkey and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie (all of which I am greatly fond of myself) while watching football on television.

The precise origins of the Thanksgiving ceremony are in fierce dispute.  The Spanish (in 1565), French Canadians (in 1578), Virginians (in 1619) and New England’s Pilgrims (in 1621) are all claimed as originating Thanksgiving in the “New World.”  It is clear that as the Spanish, French, and English were all people with a deep respect for the Bible and the need to thank God for their blessings, as well as their survival in harsh lands, that all could be seen validly as participating in the origin of Thanksgiving in North America.  For as long as there have been believers in the scriptures on these shores, there has been an offering of thanks to God–that is, after all, what this day is about.

The first Thanksgiving proclamation during after the independence of the United States was from (who else) George Washington, who set a Thanksgiving celebration on the last Thursday of November in 1789 (his proclamation can be found here:  http://holydays.tripod.com/wash.htm).  Unfortunately, the practice was discontinued by Thomas Jefferson, who found the celebration of Thanksgiving too monarchial, probably because it recognized the kingly authority of God.  The practice of celebrating Thanksgiving as a civil holiday resumed in 1863, thanks to the persuasion of Abraham Lincoln by the poet Sarah Hale, who wrote “Mary Had A Little Lamb” (cited from The Thanksgiving Story: http://holydays.tripod.com/thanks.htm) .  As Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation relates to a time of civil strife and a recognition of God’s blessing amidst times of trouble, it is worth quoting in full here (taken from:  http://holydays.tripod.com/linc.htm):

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

From that time, the celebration of Thanksgiving was a regular habit within the United States, though its timing has changed slightly since 1863.  In 1941, just before the entrance of the United States into the Second World War, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the day for celebrating Thanksgiving in the United States from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday in November, after trying (and failing) to have the date changed even earlier.

It should be noted that Thanksgiving is celebrated in several countries with slightly different customs and emphases and somewhat different timing.  The Canadian tradition, which is different than the United States (following the model of Frobisher rather than the Pilgrims), sets Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October (where Americans place Columbus Day, even if they rarely celebrate it any longer).  The Netherlands happens to celebrate Thanksgiving as well on the day the Americans do, and the Liberians (whose long-dominant people were freed slaves from the United States) celebrate Thanksgiving on November 9th.  As an odd aside, the people of Grenada celebrate an unrelated festival of Thanksgiving that honors the successful American invasion of that island in 1983 by celebrating on October 25th. (For more information, see:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving)

Let us not forget that it is ultimately God to whom we owe thanks for our lives and well-being, and let us not forget that in the midst of our prosperity.  Not all are so fortunate, and it is a heartening thing to see many people use Thanksgiving as an opportunity to give to the less fortunate, a sign that just as we owe our well-being to God, so we ought to help others in need.  Even as we pass the turkey and mashed potatoes, let us be reminded that the source of our blessings is not our own strength or wisdom or power or goodness, but in the graciousness and generosity of our Creator.  If we remember this, we will remain a part of the lengthy tradition of thanksgiving that spans across the centuries in our land, and hopefully pass that noble tradition of gratitude on to others so that they may follow in our footsteps.