"Gobbling" isn't all there is to
Thanksgiving Day, really....
What's the meaning of this?
Thanksgiving in Historic American Style
(Prepared for Jess and Lacy by their Uncle Jeff Grismer)
- Jess & Lacy -- In case you’re interested, I included complete copies of these Thanksgiving
Proclamations our government has issued. But to make things simple – here’s a summary
of the true history of Thanksgiving in the USA. -- As always, Love, Uncle Jeff.
Mayflower Compact – 1620: This in effect is the beginning of the USA. It is
recognized as the first governmental document in our history. It states, “In the name of
God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, by the grace of God, having
undertaken, for the glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian faith…voyage
to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia…”
Governor Bradford’s Thanksgiving Proclamation – 1623: He said that on
Thursday, November 29th you should take your wives and kids and go to your churches
and listen to your Pastor and give thanks to Almighty God for all His blessings.
Thanksgiving Proclamation – June 20, 1676: The Governing council of
Charlestown, Massachusetts set apart June 29th to give thanks to the Holy God for His
compassion towards them in their war with the Heathen Natives of the land and that the
whole people should offer up their bodies and souls as a living and acceptable service
unto God by Jesus Christ.
Continental Congress Proclamation for a Day of Public Thanksgiving –
Oct. 18, 1780: . . . that all the people may assemble on that day to celebrate the
praises of our Divine Benefactor; to confess our unworthiness of the least of His favors,
and to offer our fervent supplication to the God of all grace... to cause the knowledge of
Christianity to spread over all the earth.
Continental Congress Thanksgiving Proclamation – Oct. 11, 1782: IT
being the indispensable duty of all Nations, not only to offer up their supplications to
ALMIGHTY GOD, the giver of all good, for His gracious assistance in a time of distress,
but also in a solemn and public manner to give Him praise for His goodness in general .
. . Therefore the United States in Congress assembled . . . Does hereby recommend to
the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe, and request the several States to
interpose their authority in appointing and commanding the observation of Thursday the
twenty-eight day of November next, as a day of solemn Thanksgiving to GOD for all His
mercies.
Congressional Resolution – Sept. 25, 1789: Unanimously approved that a joint
committee of both Houses be directed to wait upon the President of the United States to
request that he recommend to the people of the United States a day of public
thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the
many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity
peaceably to establish a constitution of government for their safety and happiness.
George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation – 1789: “…therefore, I do
recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the
people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the
beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all
unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and
protection… And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and
supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our
national and other transgressions…”
Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation – 1863: (America forgot
National Prayer during 45 years of peace and prosperity. Then in 1863 Abraham
Lincoln thundered, “ We have been recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven… we
have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown, but we
have forgotten God.”) [this is when Thanksgiving became a National Holiday for the
USA] Lincoln proclaimed, “ … 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…
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
voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every
part of the United States… 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.”
1976 – Tradition Finds a Home: In 1976, the year of America’s 200th birthday,
the chapel of Thanks-Giving Square was consecrated. President Gerald Ford has
referred to it as "a major national shrine" and President George Bush noted that it is "a
symbol and a home for America's most beloved tradition."
1988 – America Prays Together Again: Anne Armstrong, using Thanks-Giving
Square research, asked President Reagan in 1981 to place the National Day of Prayer
on its original spring date, which had been neglected for nearly two centuries. The first
Thursday in May has been official ever since (confirmed by Congress in 1988), reviving
the ancient "spring prayer and fall Thanksgiving" cycle of the Continental Congress.
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