Happy Thanksgiving to our American friends! This is a special day to celebrate with family and friends.
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.
More than 150 years later, in October of 1777, all 13 colonies participated in a one-time “thanksgiving” celebration which commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. It would take a span of over 150 more years to establish Thanksgiving as Americans now celebrate it – George Washington proclaimed it a National holiday in 1789, Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of the Civil War, proclaimed the last Thursday in November in 1863, and Congress sanctioned it as a legal holiday in 1941.
TODAY’S THANKSGIVING MESSAGE
We go back 41 years to this 1981 Thanksgiving Day message from Ronald Reagan, his first as American President:
“Thanksgiving has become a day when Americans extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. Long before there was a government welfare program, this spirit of voluntary giving was ingrained in the American character. Americans have always understood that, truly, one must give in order to receive. This should be a day of giving as well as a day of thanks.
“Searching our hearts, we should ask what we can do as individuals to demonstrate our gratitude to God for all He has done. Such reflection can only add to the significance of this precious day of remembrance.
“Let us recommit ourselves to that devotion to God and family that has played such an important role in making this a great Nation, and which will be needed as a source of strength if we are to remain a great people.”
