Matthew 15:36 in speaking of Jesus says:
“And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”
So should leadership at all levels do!
As Hebrews 13:15 says:
“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
Let us as a nation and as individuals not forget the basic purpose of the day as it relates to God and our individual and collective relationships to God.
Each year, the United States of America as a nation sets aside the fourth Thursday in November to render Thanksgiving to God for his abundant mercy and blessing (e.g., victory, protection, prosperity, sufficiency, hope) of the nation, to pray for forgiveness of the nation’s transgressions, and to exhort the nation to service to God…
Let me first give an account of the process whereby the nation arrived at the fourth Thursday in November for the National Thanksgiving Day. A National Archives article entitled “Congress Establishes Thanksgiving” at the link in the reference section says:
“On September 28, 1789, just before leaving for recess, the first Federal Congress passed a resolution asking that the President of the United States recommend to the nation a day of thanksgiving. A few days later, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a “Day of Publick Thanksgivin” – the first time Thanksgiving was celebrated under the new Constitution. Subsequent presidents issued Thanksgiving Proclamations, but the dates and even months of the celebrations varied. It wasn’t until President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Proclamation that Thanksgiving was regularly commemorated each year on the last Thursday of November.
In 1939, however, the last Thursday in November fell on the last day of the month. Concerned that the shortened Christmas shopping season might dampen the economic recovery, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a Presidential Proclamation moving Thanksgiving to the second to last Thursday of November. As a result of the proclamation, 32 states issued similar proclamations while 16 states refused to accept the change and proclaimed Thanksgiving to be the last Thursday in November. For two years two days were celebrated as Thanksgiving – the President and part of the nation celebrated it on the second to last Thursday in November, while the rest of the country celebrated it the following week.
To end the confusion, Congress decided to set a fixed-date for the holiday. On October 6, 1941, the House passed a joint resolution declaring the last Thursday in November to be the legal Thanksgiving Day. The Senate, however, amended the resolution establishing the holiday as the fourth Thursday, which would take into account those years when November has five Thursdays. The House agreed to the amendment, and President Roosevelt signed the resolution on December 26, 1941, thus establishing the fourth Thursday in November as the Federal Thanksgiving Day holiday.”
Now let me discuss the issue of the Pilgrims and Native Americans feast that reportedly took place in 1621.
Do you think the original National Thanksgiving Day was about the Pilgrims and Native Americans? Well, it was not. The association of the Pilgrims and Native Americans with the National Day of Thanksgiving is a corruption and convolution of historical events.
The feast held by the Pilgrims attended by the Native Americans that has been tied to the National Thanksgiving Day reportedly occurred in 1621. The Declaration of Independence occurred on July 4, 1776, some 155 years after the reported feast. The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia adopted the US Constitution into law on September 17, 1787. A sufficient number of states ratified the Constitution on June 21, 1788, making the Constitution the formal, official, and legal framework for the nation, some 167 years after the reported feast. Therefore, the people issuing the Declaration of Independence and establishing the nation constitutionally were not even born when the reported feast took place. It is likely most if not all of them knew nothing about the reported feast. I suspect that it became tied to our National Thanksgiving Day when somebody prepared a school book entry on the event and tied it to the National Thanksgiving Day and the false narrative begin to propagate throughout the nation down through the years. Of course, that is my speculation as to how the link began.
Reportedly, the first formal Thanksgiving Day celebration was established by the Continental Congress on November 30, 1777 when it adopted a General Order for George Washington for a day of “Thanksgiving and Praise” to take place on December 18, 1777. The military orientation was out of thankfulness for victory on the battlefield and defense of this nation.
The link for a copy of the order is in the reference section. Below is an excerpt from that order.
“Forasmuch as it is the indispensible duty of all men, to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligations to him for benefits received, and to implore such further blessings as they stand in need of: and it having pleased him, in his abundant mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable bounties of his common providence, but also, to smile upon us in the prosecution of a just and necessary war, for the defence of our unalienable rights and liberties”—It is therefore recommended by Congress, that Thursday, the 18th day of December next be set apart for Solemn Thanksgiving and Praise, that at one time, and with one voice, the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor; and that, together with their sincere acknowledgements and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their sins; and supplications for such further blessings as they stand in need of—The Chaplains will properly notice this recommendation, that the day of thanksgiving may be duly observed in the army, agreeably to the intentions of Congress.”
In the text of the general order, the absence of any explicit mention of the Pilgrims is noteworthy. This omission is seemingly intentional as the celebration was not intended to be about the Pilgrims at Plymouth but about a continually thankful nation that recognizes the sovereignty of God and national submission to God. I mention this concerning the Pilgrims since some take issue with the Pilgrims later treatment of the Native Americans. As the early founders concluded it is neither necessary nor beneficial to tie the early Pilgrims to the National Day of Thanksgiving. This means the day is proper and biblical despite any negative American history. Indeed, we as individuals have negative history, yet we are called to be thankful.
Note that general order by Congress occurred prior to the nation being formally established through ratification of the Constitution.
The first national proclamation for a National Day of Thanksgiving as a constitutional nation was issued by President George Washington on October 3, 1789 for a day of celebration on November 26, 1789.
The text of that October 3, 1789 proclamation is given in the reference section. In the text, the emphasis is on thanking God for the nation. In the text there is a recognition that the nation has transgressed and therefore attention is given to prayer for forgiveness of the nation and therefore its people, individually and collectively. In the text the absence of any explicit mention of the Pilgrims is noteworthy as the celebration was not intended to be about them but about continually thankful nation that recognizes the sovereignty of God and national submission to God. An excerpt from the 1789 proclamation follows:
“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…”.
President Abraham Lincoln continued the spirit of President Washington’s proclamation. He issued two proclamations in 1863 for a National Thanksgiving Day. The first was issued in July 1863 for a national day of thanksgiving to be held in August of that year. The second was issued on October 3, 1863 to be held the last Thursday in November 1863, He also did not mention the Pilgrims and Native Americans. The text of that 1863 proclamations is given in the reference section.
Below is an excerpt of that July 1863 Proclamation by President Lincoln:
”
A Proclamation By the President of the United States of America
It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the supplications and prayers of an afflicted people and to vouchsafe to the Army and the Navy of the United States victories on land and on the sea so signal and so effective as to furnish reasonable grounds for augmented confidence that the Union of these States will be maintained, their Constitution preserved, and their peace and prosperity permanently restored…
Now, therefore, be it known that I do set apart Thursday, the 6th day of August next, to be observed as a day for national thanksgiving, praise, and prayer, and… render the homage due to the Divine Majesty for the wonderful things He has done…
”
Below is an excerpt of that October 1863 Proclamation by President Lincoln:
“No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. 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 one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, 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.”
An excerpt of President Roosevelt’s proclamation of 1941 follows:
“I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate and set aside Thursday, the twentieth day of November, 1941, as a day to be observed in giving thanks to the Heavenly Source of our earthly blessings.”
Now let me offer some concluding observations.
Unfortunately as is the case with modern humans our education system has corrupted and convoluted historical events.
Consequently some Presidents have included references to the Pilgrims and Native Americans where none was originally intended.
Such is the case with President Obama’s 2016 Proclamation as well as the
2018 Proclamation by President Trump.
Yet, even if the Pilgrim celebration of 1621 is mentioned in a proclamation or elsewhere it does not celebrate the killing of Native Americans as there is no evidence that any killing took place during the reportedly three day feast in 1621 nor at any time soon thereafter. Indeed, one should look at the feast itself as a time of hope and working for lasting peace and unity between the arriving settlers and Native Americans. Unfortunately, that peace did not last; similar to but not the same as the Israelites under Joshua, USA ended up going to war against taking life and land from Native Americans.. Yet, now we should work for lasting peace and unity and fair and reasonable equity for all who live in United States territories including Native Americans.
So if you choose not celebrate our National Thanksgiving Day, that is your choice.
I celebrate it to be about what it was originally established to be about. It is about the fact that the United States of America ought to set aside a day to nationally express thanksgiving to God and its citizens. That is my choice.
References.
President Roosevelt November 8, 1941 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation:
“By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate and set aside Thursday, the twentieth day of November, 1941, as a day to be observed in giving thanks to the Heavenly Source of our earthly blessings.
Our beloved country is free and strong. Our moral and physical defenses against the forces of threatened aggression are mounting daily in magnitude and effectiveness.
In the interest of our own future, we are sending succor at increasing pace to those peoples abroad who are bravely defending their homes and their precious liberties against annihilation.
We have not lost our faith in the spiritual dignity of man, our proud belief in the right of all people to live out their lives in freedom and with equal treatment. The love of democracy still burns brightly in our hearts.
We are grateful to the Father of us all for the innumerable daily manifestations of His beneficent mercy in affairs both public and private, for the bounties of the harvest, for opportunities to labor and to serve, and for the continuance of those homely joys and satisfactions which enrich our lives.
Let us ask the Divine Blessing on our decision and determination to protect our way of life against the forces of evil and slavery which seek in these days to encompass us.
On the day appointed for this purpose, let us reflect at our homes or places of worship on the goodness of God and, in giving thanks, let us pray for a speedy end to strife and the establishment on earth of freedom, brotherhood, and justice for enduring time.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington this 8th day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-sixth.
FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT
By the President:
CORDELL HULL
Secretary of State.”
President Washington’s October 3, 1789 Proclamation:
“Thanksgiving Proclamation
[New York, 3 October 1789]
By the President of the United States of America. a 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 tranquillity, 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 shewn 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 encrease 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.
Go: Washington”
Insight into the process of approval for above proclamation may be found at Library of Congress.
President Lincoln July 1863 Proclamation
“A Proclamation By the President of the United States of America
It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the supplications and prayers of an afflicted people and to vouchsafe to the Army and the Navy of the United States victories on land and on the sea so signal and so effective as to furnish reasonable grounds for augmented confidence that the Union of these States will be maintained, their Constitution preserved, and their peace and prosperity permanently restored. But these victories have been accorded not without sacrifices of life, limb, health, and liberty, incurred by brave, loyal, and patriotic citizens. Domestic affliction in every part of the country follows in the train of these fearful bereavements. It is meet and right to recognize and confess the presence of the Almighty Father and the power of His hand equally in these triumphs and in these sorrows:
Now, therefore, be it known that I do set apart Thursday, the 6th day of August next, to be observed as a day for national thanksgiving, praise, and prayer, and I invite the people of the United States to assemble on that occasion in their customary places of worship and in the forms approved by their own consciences render the homage due to the Divine Majesty for the wonderful things He has done in the nation’s behalf and invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit to subdue the anger which has produced and so long sustained a needless and cruel rebellion, to change the hearts of the insurgents, to guide the counsels of the Government with wisdom adequate to so great a national emergency, and to visit with tender care and consolation throughout the length and breadth of our land all those who, through the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, battles, and sieges, have been brought to suffer in mind, body, or estate, and finally to lead the whole nation through the paths of repentance and submission to the divine will back to the perfect enjoyment of union and fraternal peace. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 15th day of July, A. D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-eighth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.”
Transcript for President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation from October 3, 1863
“By the President of the United States
A Proclamation
The year that is drawing toward 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, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. 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 one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, 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. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United Stated States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.
Abraham Lincoln
By the President: William H. Seward. Secretary of State”
Continental Congress 1777 General Order: founders.archive.gov
Congress Establishes Thanksgiving
