On December 16th, in the year 1620, the Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Harbor. On board this tiny ship were a group of people that we know as the Pilgrims. Little did they know the hardships that they would face would cost some of them their very lives.
Lacking knowledge of this new land, and having weakened bodies after such a tiring journey from England, sickness became rampant among the Pilgrims. Suffering from pneumonia and scurvy, and not having enough food available, 2 or 3 people died each day that winter, bringing the original 102 members of their group down to a mere 52.
I’m sure that you are familiar with this story that can be found in almost every account of American history. As the story progresses, we know that God spared the Pilgrims’ lives by bringing them Squanto, an English speaking Native American who taught them the much needed skills to survive in New England. He showed them how to plant and harvest crops, make fishing nets and he introduced them to Massasoit, the chief of the Wampanoag tribe. This tribe quickly became allies and great friends to the people of the Plymouth Colony.
That next winter in Plymouth would be very different from the previous one. Instead of facing sickness and starvation, the colony now had plenty of food stored up that would last them through the spring, as well as having made new friends. In the fall of 1621, the colonists held a 3 day celebration in honor of a bountiful harvest. Chief Massasoit and 90 of his men came and joined their English friends for feasting and entertainment.
A legend that a lot of people don’t know is that before the Pilgrims began their feast, each person had 5 kernels of corn on their plate. This was to serve as a reminder of the hardships that they had faced during their first winter when often all they had to eat was 5 kernels of corn a piece each day. Remembering this promoted a spirit of thankfulness to God for bringing them through such difficulty to a time of extreme bounty. They now had a wealth of knowledge so that they could survive in the new land as well as freedom from the Church of England that they had so desperately wanted.
Even though this is traditionally known as the first Thanksgiving, we didn’t celebrate it as a national holiday until years later. Many presidents have called for a national day of thanks in the month of November. On October 3rd, 1789, George Washington made the following proclamation:
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to 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 form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Now 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 of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
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, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
In the middle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens”, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November. This was observed faithfully until 1941, when President Roosevelt signed a bill making the date of Thanksgiving a matter of federal law and setting the day officially as the fourth Thursday of November.
I remember back in my early years of school, the Thanksgiving holiday was a BIG deal. When November would roll around we came home with Pilgrim hats, Indian head bands (back in my day, we stilled called them Indians – I know it’s not politically correct) and turkeys made from tracing our hands. Everywhere you went you would see some sort of Thanksgiving decoration as people anticipated the upcoming holiday. Talk of families gathering and the feasting that would take place built up lots of excitement!
So, what happened to Thanksgiving? What happened to make Americans go straight from Halloween right into Christmas with barely a pause to celebrate this uniquely American holiday? No other country in the world celebrates Thanksgiving, so why have we as a nation stopped?
I believe that one of the biggest reasons is that America has turned from God. In the proclamation that Washington gave, it is evident that God was recognized as Almighty Providence and that our president wished to give Him the honor and thanks that He deserved. Washington focused on God and our relationship to Him. In fact, of the 432 words that made up his speech, he referred to God 15 times. This obvious focus on divine authority links the liberty, happiness and wisdom of our nation inherently to the grace of God.
We can see how far we have drifted from this ideal when we compare this speech to more recent presidents. In the proclamation of 2000, Bill Clinton said, “Every generation of Americans has benefited from the generosity, talents, efforts, and contributions of their fellow citizens. All of us have been enriched by the diverse cultures,
traditions, and beliefs of the millions of people who, by birth or choice, have come to call America
their home. All of us are beneficiaries of our founders’ wisdom and of the service and sacrifice of
our men and women in uniform. While Americans are an independent people, we are
interdependent as well, and our greatest achievements are those we have accomplished together.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us remember with gratitude that despite our differences in
background, age, politics, or race, each of us is a member of our larger American family and that,
working together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish in this promising new century.” In 2015, Barrack Obama said in his Thanksgiving proclamation, “I encourage the people of the United States to join together — whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors — and give thanks for all we have received in the past year, express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own, and share our bounty with others.” Both speeches indicate that we as a nation have ourselves to thank and that we have and will accomplish much by depending on the human race, not on the Creator of it.
Another reason I believe that Thanksgiving is barely observed is the tremendous amount of greed that the Christmas season promotes. The successors following Lincoln as president followed his tradition of declaring the last Thursday in November to be a day of thanksgiving. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt decided to break this tradition. That year, the month of November had five Thursdays instead of the more common four. Roosevelt declared Thanksgiving to be on the 4th Thursday instead of the last Thursday. He said that he hoped that giving merchants extra time to sell their goods before Christmas would help to increase profits and spending, and therefore would help to bring the country out of the Great Depression. While this may have genuinely been an idea that he thought would financially help our country, it also served as a springboard to launch us into to the holiday buying frenzy that begins as soon as November 1st arrives.
Black Friday has now crept its way into our American tradition of celebrating, and stores have begun to open up for pre-black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day, causing many employees to miss out on time spent with family and friends, all for the sake of making more money. News of customers fighting over a coveted sale item, people camping out all night in front of stores, traffic being backed up for miles, crowded parking lots and over crowded check-out lines are just glimpses of the effect that greed has had on our country. Everyone is rushing around to buy all the things on their loved ones’ Christmas wish lists, forgetting that the real reason for the holiday is because of the greatest Gift ever given, and that it is HIS birthday we are supposed to be celebrating.
Thanksgiving is traditionally known as a time for families to spend time with each other. Something that my 16 year old pointed out to me is the vast amount of broken families across our nation probably causes many people to shy away from this holiday. It serves as a reminder of what they’ve lost and the pain that they have endured due to divorce, estrangement or the death of a loved one.
Perhaps some people haven’t experienced any of these tragic events. Maybe they simply just don’t like to spend time with family because they weren’t close growing up. This is, in my opinion, a tragedy in and of itself. Family game nights have been replaced by binge watching TV, playing video games and spending hours upon hours on social media. God often has no place in the American home and instead people worship other things such as money, material possession or even celebrities. Children have no respect for their parents or other authority because their parents haven’t required respect from them. The mentality parents have of “give them what they want so we don’t have to entertain them” has led to a spirit of entitlement instead of a spirit of gratitude for things that should have been earned, not just given because they wanted them. Generation X has no desire to spend time with family, because there are very few, if any, good memories of time spent together while they were growing up.
As a child, in my house on Thanksgiving, at each person’s place at the table, there were 5 kernels of corn. After we enjoyed our feast together, we would pass a basket around the table. Each time the basket passed, we put a kernel of corn in and would tell everyone something that we were thankful for. The basket went around the table 5 times until everyone had put in all of their kernels. This is a wonderful tradition that has been passed down from my parents that we still look forward to every year. We also look forward to time spent simply being together as a family and enjoying each other’s company.
So, is there hope for saving this holiday that points us back to the Divine Providence that our forefathers so highly revered? I sincerely hope so. Somehow, people need to be reminded that without God’s blessing, our nation will continue down the path that we are currently on which surely will end in our demise. If we are to be the great nation that so many proclaim us to be, we MUST take the time to thank God for our many blessings and to plead for His mercy and grace.
2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” America needs so much healing right now ̶ healing from racial prejudice, hatred, immorality and greed. We need healing in our businesses, our schools our government and even in our churches. We need healing in our homes and in our marriages. More than all of these things, we need healing in our hearts.
America, wake up! Thanksgiving is not simply a break from work and a time to eat copious amounts of food in between the hustle and bustle of the madness of the Christmas season. It’s not even about the Pilgrims, the Mayflower or even the turkeys. This is the day that we set aside to reflect on the goodness of God toward us and take time to give Him the thanks that He deserves. If we as a nation don’t realize this, before long, the holiday that we know as Thanksgiving may disappear completely.
