The Origin of Thanksgiving

The earliest observance of Thanksgiving on this continent was with special services in Virginia as early as 1607. The first Thanksgiving Festival began on December 13th in 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It started as a harvest festival with the people thanking God for giving them sufficient crops. That first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days with the people enthusiastically participating.

On June 20, 1676 the town of Charlestown, Massachusetts issued the First Thanksgiving Proclamation. By unanimous vote the governing council instructed the clerk, Edward Rawson, to proclaim June 29th as a day of thanksgiving.

George Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789, the year of his inauguration as President of the United States of America. He called for another Thanksgiving Day in 1795. With other presidents and state governors proclaiming days of thanksgiving at various times there was no effort to organize a yearly Thanksgiving Day until Mrs. Sarah Joseph Hale started her crusade in 1827. It took thirty-six years to achieve victory when, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. The nation has celebrated the special day ever since.

Today Thanksgiving Day is a legal holiday with most government and private employees being given the day off. Some companies and most schools also shut down the following Friday. Yes, the United States of America, for most purposes, observes Thanksgiving Day.

But, it appears that Thanksgiving Day, like most other national and religious holidays, has been highly commercialized, to the point that many people forget what we are supposed to be celebrating. If we were to survey people on the street and ask, "What stands out in your mind when you think of Thanksgiving Day", we would probably get answers like:turkey, dinner, pilgrims, fall, pumpkins, corn stalks, etc.

But, how many people on Thanksgiving Day actually pause and do what the name of the event suggests? What portion of the celebrators do stop to thank God for our nation and for all we have?

Psalm 105:1 commands us, "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done."

As we approach Thanksgiving Day, let's not focus on the food, which are gifts. Let's focus on the giver. Let's thank God for all He has provided. Let's call on His name and invite Him to be present at our table. Let's celebrate Thanksgiving Day with grateful hearts.