This Thursday, we observe a time honored American tradition, the celebration of Thanksgiving Day. It is a day that the nation gives thanks to Almighty God for the many blessings of the rich, resourceful country we call the United States. It is a time for families to gather from across this great land, coming together around the dinner table to remember, to laugh and converse about matters that are important to the heart. President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) once said: “All change in America begins around the dinner table.” In a real sense, he is right, if we think back 90, 80, 60 or 40 years ago. Unfortunately, many don’t gather daily around the dinner table. It seems that we are pulled in so many directions that we haven’t the time for each other. Thanksgiving Day still remains embossed and engrained in the American heart.
The men and women we call the Pilgrims, left England to pursue religious freedom. They were not truly suppressed in England from their religious practices so much as they believed that the Church of England, newly founded in 1534 by King Henry VIII, was, as they would say: “too Romanish” or too much like Roman Catholicism. They departed England in 1619 and sailed to Holland first. Unsatisfied with their Dutch encounters, they decided to sail west to the New World, after returning to England .
They set sail on September 6, 1620 from Plymouth, England, sailing on a ship all too familiar to us, named The Mayflower. There were 102 passengers on board. The voyage was approximately 2,760 miles and took them sixty six days to reach their destination. They sighted land on November 9, 1620 on the tip of what is now known as Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA. They made landfall on November 11, 1620. To this day in Provincetown, visitors can climb the tower monument which marks the spot of the Mayflower landing and experience breathtaking panoramic views of Boston Harbor. Later the Pilgrims sailed west and made the town they set sail from in England. One year later they set apart a day of Thanksgiving to praise God for all the graces he bestowed on them since their arrival in the New World. It was a great celebration of the harvest in 1621, along with the Indians, who helped them better acclimate themselves to their new surroundings.
Thanksgiving Day has been a part of the very fiber of American Life since that first Thanksgiving in 1621. The Massachusetts Commonwealth has celebrated Thanksgiving since 1630. General George Washington celebrated Thanksgiving with the troops each year throughout the Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress proclaimed an annual December Thanksgiving from the years 1777-1783. President Washington proclaimed a National Thanksgiving in 1789 and 1795. President John Adams proclaimed a day of Thanks in 1798 and 1799. President James Madison set a day of National Thanksgiving in 1812 and 1815. By 1858 twenty-five states were celebrating a day of Thanksgiving.
On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation establishing Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday to be observed on the fourth Thursday of November.
We can observe that this grand American holiday has a long, rich history. Nevertheless, we insist upon setting this day aside to gather together in church and around the dinner table to offer thanks for the many blessings God has given us and continues to give us to make this nation strong.
