THE ROOT OF AMERICAN THANKSGIVING IS
GOD
Today, it's food, family, friends and
maybe some football, celebrated for
tradition sake
...but for our forefathers,
the tradition of Thanksgiving was a
time to focus on God and His blessings.
The Pilgrims set sail for America on
September 6, 1620, and for two months
braved the harsh elements of a
storm-tossed sea.
After arriving at Plymouth Rock, they
had a prayer service and began building
crude shelters, but were unprepared for
a harsh New England winter, with nearly
half dying before spring.
Yet,
persevering in prayer, and assisted
by helpful Indians, they reaped a
bountiful harvest the next summer.
The grateful Pilgrims then declared a
three-day feast in December 1621 to
Thank God and to celebrate with
their Indian friends.
The first national Thanksgiving occurred
in 1789 when a resolution was delivered
to President George Washington, who
heartily concurred with the
congressional request, declaring:
"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.
Now, therefore, I do appoint
Thursday, the 26th day of November 1789
...that we may all unite to render unto
Him our sincere and humble thanks for
HIS kind care and protection".
Much of the credit for the adoption of
an annual national Thanksgiving may be
attributed to Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale.
For over twenty years, she promoted the
idea of a national Thanksgiving Day,
contacting President after President
until Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863
by setting aside the last Thursday of
November, declaring:
"We are prone to forget the Source from
which the blessings of fruitful years
and healthful skies come.
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. I do, therefore
invite my fellow-citizens in every part
of the United States to observe the last
Thursday of November as a
day
of thanksgiving and praise to our
beneficent Father ...who dwelleth in
the heavens".
For the next seventy-five years,
Presidents followed Lincoln's precedent,
annually declaring a national
Thanksgiving Day. Then, in 1941,
Congress permanently established the
fourth Thursday of each November as a
national holiday.
As you celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday
this year,
remember to retain the original gratefulness
to God
that has always been the spirit of this, the
oldest of all American Holidays!
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Catholic Thanksgiving Prayer
Thank you God for all the wonderful
blessings,
For our daily meals, for clean drinking
water,
For sunlight and for the cool breeze.
I'm thankful for my family, my husband,
my friends, and my health.
I'm thankful for my friends, to love and
be loved and for freedom.
I'm thankful to be employed;
I'm thankful to be alive and praise you
for all these wonders.
I'm thankful that you have been so
gracious
To give your only Son to us
Who gave his life and bore the
Unbearable
For us sinners.
On this Thanksgiving Day, I take the
Opportunity to thanks for countless
other
things you provide us with on a daily
basis.
Amen.
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