How Thanksgiving Day Came To Be
How Thanksgiving Day Came To Be…
It’s that time again! Time to gather together with our family and friends and enjoy delicious foods and watch football. Well, the story of the first Thanksgiving in this country was very much the same; except for the football of course!
According to our history books, it was the fall of 1621 and the colonists at Plymouth and the Wampanoag Indians celebrated together. It had been a hard first winter for the colonists who had fled England for religious freedom and arrived on this continent on December 11, 1620. They had lost 46 of the original 102 colonists during that winter. With the help of the Indians and God, the first year had brought a bountiful harvest and new hope for the colonists. In celebration of their survival and renewed hope a traditional English harvest festival that lasted three days was enjoyed by 53 colonist and 90 natives.
Then in 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held on the last Thursday of each November. Calling for a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”
To put us in the mood of Thanksgiving here are a few prayers that may sum up the essence of this holiday…
Thanksgiving
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
We give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way. ~unknown
Thank You, Thank You, Generous God!
Thank You, thank You, thank You, generous God!
You have injected life with joy, thus we know laughter.
You have dabbed creation with color, thus we enjoy beauty.
You have whistled a divine tune into the rhythm of life, thus we hear music.
You have filled our minds with questions, thus we appreciate mystery.
You have entered our hearts with compassion, thus we experience faith.
Thank You, God, Thank You. Thank You!
~ C. Welton Gaddy
At M&M Supermoving we give thanks for all of you! May you enjoy a beautiful and heartfelt Thanksgiving this year!
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