Giving Thanks

I hope you're able to catch your breath for a moment today to enjoy some of the many blessings in your life! I know I personally have much to be grateful for, many things that I take for granted each day. I know I'm thankful for my family, our warm cozy home, and the feast of food that I'll be diving into later today (I don't care what you dieters say; calories don't count on holidays :-D). I'm also thankful that my 5.5 year old computer is still working and giving me the opportunity to connect with you all in cyber-space. But most of all I'm thankful to Jehovah-Jireh, God the provider.

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I found myself curious about the origins of Thanksgiving Day. Sure, it started with the pilgrims, but is there more? I found the information below to be quite informative; some stuff I knew, other stuff was news to me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Thanksgiving Day in the United States is an annual day of thanks for the blessings of the past year, observed on the fourth Thursday in November in each of the states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. It is a historical, national, and religious holiday that began with the Pilgrims. After the survival of their first colony through the bitter winter, and the gathering of the harvest, Gov. William Bradford of Plymouth Colony issued a thanksgiving proclamation in the autumn of 1621. This first thanksgiving lasted three days, during which the Pilgrims feasted on wild turkey and venison with their Indian guests.

Days of thanksgiving were celebrated sporadically until, on November 26, 1789, President Washington issued a proclamation of a nation-wide day of thanksgiving. He made it clear that the day should be one of prayer and giving thanks to God. It was to be celebrated by all religious denominations, a circumstance that helped to promote a spirit of common heritage.

Credit for establishing this day as a national holiday is usually given to Sarah J. Hale, editor and founder of the Ladies' Magazine (from 1828) in Boston. Her editorials in the magazine and letters to President Lincoln urging the formal establishment of a national holiday of thanksgiving resulted in Lincoln's proclamation in 1863, designating the last Thursday in November as the day. Succeeding presidents annually followed his example, except for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that Thanksgiving would be the next to last Thursday of November rather than the last. With the country still in the midst of The Great Depression, Roosevelt thought this would give merchants a longer period to sell goods before Christmas. Increasing profits and spending during this period, Roosevelt hoped, would aid bringing the country out of the Depression. At the time, it was considered inappropriate to advertise goods for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. However, Roosevelt's declaration was not mandatory; twenty-three states went along with this recommendation, and 22 did not. Other states, like Texas, could not decide and took both weeks as government holidays [hey, I like Texas' idea!]. Roosevelt persisted in 1940 to celebrate his "Franksgiving," as it was termed. In 1941, Congress adopted a joint resolution setting the date on the fourth Thursday.