New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-11-18
THANKSGIVING.


The Puritan pioneers of ew-England had
too much hard work on their hands to give
MANY thoughts to the amenities OF life, and
they left us consequently legacy OF the
sterling virtues which strengthen politlcal
fabric rather than tho pleasant observances
which adOrn social intercourse. Alter they hau
conquered the wilderness, beaten OIL the
sayages, established the church, the school, and
the town-meeting, and trampled out heresy
and witchcraft, there was little time to do
more. They went to their rest with the memory
of hard duties sternly performed, and never
reproached themselves at the last moment with
the recollection of hours wasted In festive
folly and vain amusements. They founded
however, one annual feast which amidst lts
somber surroundings shone with particular
luster. The New-England Thanksgiving,
ordained at the close of the harvest,
grew out of the occasional celebrations by
which the first emigrants testified their graft
tude to heaven for preservation from the ter
rors of the deep or the torch and Ratchet OF the
Indian. 1t was o solemn religious service, such
"a Cromwell and his soldiers held after their
victories; and although, after the prayer and
the sermon, there came the wel-garnished
board. the family assemblage and such right
cons merriment and decorous frolic as the strict
views of Puritanism permitted, 1t was
long while before Thanksgiving Day ceased to
be in reality, what it has always renamed IN
name q genuine church institution.
If the day has lost somewhat of the charac-
ter of a festival of the church, it has not, how
ever, degenerated into a mere festival OF the
10 which
has rendered valuable service to society. and in
which its influence is still unimpaired. Family
ties and home instincts, weakened by the rowing
and adventurous habits of Americans are re-
vived by this family festival, which brings
together long-separated parents and children
and brothers and sisters, and strengthens those
natural bonds of affection upon which the hap
piness and morality of the entire social organl-
cation are more or less dependent With us the
young man, rs soon as he can earn support
is sent away to be the pioneer OF new COM
munity. The daughter when she marries fol-
lows her husband to some distant State. The
different branches of n family rarely settle
near the old homestead, as they did in the
earlier days of this country, and as they still
do in the countries of the Old World. Com
paratively few indeed have any homestead !;
for house that has been transmitted from
father to son for more than two or three gen.
erations is becoming nova days something OF
a phenomenon. If there were not festival
once in a while. like Thanksgiving. to gather
up the family fragments, and enable sons to
renew an acquaintance with their fathers and
mothers, and sisters to look at one anothers
faces, we should be in danger of dsintegraton
into social units. We should lose all our sense
OF local attachment and be in fair way OF
losing all our susceptibility to domestic IN
huences. The tendency of the present time
is towards an undertaking of domestic
life and sacrifice of home duties to pub
lie employments and the demands of bust
ness. AS q corrective of this tendency we be-
lieve that family Thanksgiving festivals per-
form an important social function; and to say
nothing Of the religious aspect of the duty OF
gratitude to the Almighty for the blessings OF
the year, we should mourn as public misfor-
tune a decay OF the good old custom which to-
day will set fat turkey, golden pumpkin
pie and steaming pudding before thousands
of jolly family parties, and fill thousands of
homes with merry making.