WHEN DID THANKSGIVING FIRST ORIGINATE?
Do you know when Thanksgiving originated as a national holiday? Well, on October 3, 1789, at the request of Congress, the first president of the United States issued a proclamation that reads in part:
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favor, able interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
President George Washington went on to say:
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
A day devoted to giving thanks to God has been part of our national life from the earliest days of our republic.
Yet faithful followers of Christ know that we should give thanks to God every day, not just on the federal holiday. In fact, the Scriptures exhort us to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
To develop a consistent attitude of gratitude is evidence that God’s Spirit is at work within us and is an indicator of growing personal and spiritual maturity. So today and every day, pause, pray, and really give thanks to God!
Devotedly your pastor,
Bill Blanchard