In Praise of Thanksgiving

Post (C) Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

As holidays go, there are Halloween and the Dia de Muertos. This is followed by Thanksgiving and then Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. As the years have passed, we seem to jump from the end of October holidays to the end of December holidays, with Thanksgiving getting lost in the shuffle of candy and gifts.

It was not always this way. Those who know its history know it dates back to the early days of the Pilgrims' settlement on the eastern seaboard. By 1863, then-President Lincoln made it a national holiday, and in 1941, it was set nationwide as the fourth Thursday of November.

In her 1926 writing "An Outline for the Study of Early Rhode Island," she states: "Thanksgiving, to the New Englander, is a season of home thought, gratitude, and of home-turning, if that be possible. It is the supreme feast of the family, and the home, particularly to those born and bred under New England skies."

Image (C) Doris McCraw

In his 1936 publication, William B. Newell, "Indians at Work," states: "Careful study of the historical background of our present Thanksgiving Day shows that all of the early day Thanksgivings proclaimed since the first one in 1637 have been to thank God for some bloody military victory over the Indians, French, or the English. It was not until the time of Abraham Lincoln that we observed the real Indian Thanksgiving Day. When Lincoln issued his Thanksgiving Day proclamation, it was to thank the Great Spirit for the fruits of the earth. It was the first real Indian Thanksgiving and it had taken the Whites many years to learn what a real Thanksgiving Day should be like."

And finally, from the 1913 publication "The Improvement Era, Vol. 17," an entry by Lee A. Snow has this to say, "Though Thanksgiving ranks with the Fourth of July as an American institution, it touches a deeper chord in our feelings with its early three hundred years of historic associations. It combines the religious, social and festal enjoyments, and it fills a very unique place in our social and national life."

Of all the holidays that come at the end of the year, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite. I've always been so thankful for the blessings in my life, and as I age, it becomes even more evident,

May this look back at some of the early thoughts on Thanksgiving give a historic perspective on this fourth Thursday in November. 

Wishing everyone a day and year full of many things to be thankful for.

Until Next Time,

Doris

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon