Most of us will joyfully celebrate the coming Thanksgiving Day with our family, and will give thanks for all of the blessings which have been bestowed upon our lives. People all over America, will gather to eat a huge calorie laden meal, then will sit back and either watch a movie or will watch football. The morning will be spent watching the Macy's parade while cooking the beautiful turkey and all of the dishes to compliment the big bird.
We have celebrated this same festival of thanks all of our lives because we were taught that a day was set aside for us to give thanks while eating a big turkey. But do most people know how and why Thanksgiving was started? The details are probably not known by the majority of Americans. So, today I decided to tell the story of the beginning of Thanksgiving and how it came about. Sit back and enjoy the story.
Thanksgiving's Story
On September 6, 1620 the Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, bound for the New World. But where was that New World? These Pilgrams sought freedom, both civil and religious liberty. There were 102 passengers aboard the ship. Most Americans don't realize that this holiday also directly relates to the Pilgrims' religion, and the freedom to choose their own religion. For many years prior to making their journey, these Puritans and Separists, who made up the body we know as the Pilgrims, had questioned the beliefs of the Church of England. Originally they escaped to Holland to gain more religious freedom. But wanting total freedom and a better way of life, they sought a way to travel to the New World in hopes of the better life. They landed on Plymouth Rock which still stands as our link to the Pilgrims.
Since they landed in the late fall, crops couldn't be grown and the harsh winter was coming. Then disease set in and people began to perish. Over half perished. These Pilgrims didn't know how to grow crops until a group of Iroquois Indians befriended the remaining pilgrims and taught them how to cultivate the ground and to grow pumpkins, corn, squarsh and beans and also taught them to fish and hunt. The folks began to thrive and the bounty of their crops and hunting grew enormously, so they decided to have a feast and invite the Indians. Indians numbered 90 and even their chief attended the feast which lasted three days, with a menu of wild roasted duck, venison, goose, corn, shellfish, clams, leeks, berries, wild plums and wine. What a festival! History is documented that this wasn't the first festival of thanks, and in fact, the first festival of thanksgiving was celebrated in 1607 in Virginia, but was referred to as Thanksgiving services. But, this Pilgrim/Indian gathering is the festival we all learned about in school and, generally is thought of as the beginning of our Thanksgiving feast day.
George Washington issued a proclamation in 1789 and the new America began celebrating a Thanksgiving on the first Thursday in November under the new constitution. But, the celebration was sporadic through the years, until Abraham Lincoln issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863. This came shortly after Lincoln's countrymen had suffered through the battle of Gettysburg, in which 60,000 Americans lost their lives. Four months after the battle in July Lincoln gave his Gettyburg Address. Lincoln agonized as he had walked through the graves of these soldiers who had been killed, and, at that time he committed his life to Christ. He knew that a national day of Thanksgiving should be celebrated each year for which thanks could be given to God just as the Pilgrims gave thanks. The official Thanksgiving day of thanks began to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
Lincoln's Thoughts Expressed To A Friend.
After the Battle of Gettysburg, and after Lincoln walked through the graves of the soldiers who were killed in that battle, he expressed these thoughts to a friend:
"When I left Springfield (to assume the Presidency), I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severist trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettyburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ."
Abe Lincoln's proclamation was the beginning our our dedicated fourth thursday celebration. A day to give thanks for anything and everything which you hold dear in your life. May your day be bright and wonderful, and if you seek a new beginning, may that dream come true. Happy Thanksgiving.
*****************
Quote For The Day
A man who dares waste one hour of time
has not discovered the value of life.
~~~Charles Darwin
Have a Good Day My Friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment