, 1883-11-29
The Origin cf THANKSGIVING
BY JANIS q. SWAN.

tional festival is now at hand, l
thought it might interest some Of
your readers to know the oringin Of
this New England family gathering,
which. starting among the settlers
of Plymouth and Massachusetts, Bay
in 1923. and, unit! the close Of the
late war, has been considered ex-
clusively a Yankee festival of the
New Englanders, has Row become
our honored national holiday.
In Elliott's History of New Eng
land. published in 1853. thirty years
ago, is an account of Thanksgiving
day. from which make the following
extracts. Speaking of the church of
the Pilgrim fathers and their festiyi
ties. he remarks:
The Sabbath was their only holy
day, until Thanksgiving came to be
the American festival"
Before stating the small and acci-
dental origin of this institution, let
us. in order to understand its pres
ent Importance, go back to that time,
1853. In that year we learn, from
the New York Tribune, that from the
city OF New York alone the passer-
gers on the great railway which leads
into New England, numbered during
Thanksgiving week over twenty five
thousand. This great army of peo
pie were leaving the sweet security
of streets, their own firesides, and
going out, not into the wilderness,
but into the black and wintry weather
to enjoy the fruits of the earth, to
thank God for all things, and not the
least, for this great Thursday, the
Thanksgiving of the year. 1t is a
proper thing for these children of
New England to do Pleasant mem
ories of childhood and youth are
clustered around this November time,
and by kind of magic the past is
made present.
The corn is harvested, the crops
gathered, the work is done; earth has
put on her rest, and the husbandman
is in harmony with her. Again are
heard the notes of preparation. On
Sunday the sounding proclamation
is listened to with attentive ears.
How 1.-The year has been crowned
with goodness" how peace is upon
our borders, and righteousness in all
our palaces;" how ''the clouds drop
fatness," and how "servile labor and
vain recreation" are forbidden by
law The week is full of hustle, con
secrated to the mystic rites Of fire
worshipers; the body becomes great,
almost godlike. For it are elaborated
the great chicken pie, the lordly
turkey, fanked with cranberry sauce
the toothsome pumpkin pie, without
which no true New Englander thinks
the feast complete; the luscious mince
pie, tarts, custards and seed cakes,
with unintelligible characters, clearly
not Hebrew, and finally the great
plum pudding, and all seasonable
fruits.
Fires are burning, the hearth is
swept, clean caps are donned, and all
is expectation. Fathers and mothers,
sisters, cousins, children, and even
dogs are ready to welcome to the old
homesteads which adorn New Eng
land, the crowd of returning children.
Thursday is we'll spent (even with
some excesses) forall good and kind
ly feelings are called into vivid
action; hatred, malice and uncharit
ableness are barished. The day,
then, is Il holy-day, and as such is to
be cherished and preserved. 1t is
one of the peculiar institutions of
New England, which has made its
way wherever the flag OF the United
States is unfurled
When and by whom was this festi
val instituted? It is easy to answer.
In 1923, moro than two centuries and
half ago, Winslow, writing 10 Eng
land, mentions that after the gather
ing Of the harvest, Governor Brad
ford OF Massachusetts colony, sent
out a company for game, that they
might furnish themselves more
dainty and abundant materials for Il
feast, and rejoice together after they
had gathered the fruits OF their la
bors. So they got their game, and
they ate nf it, and they feasted
Massasoit ard ninety of his indians,
and they thanked God with ali th,ir
hearts for the good world and the
good things in it. So they kept
their first Thanksgiving, Governor
Bradford said: Nor has there been
any general want cf food among
Us to this day" from 1923 to IG46l.
The great chief Massasoit and his
ninety Indians have long since passed
away, and with them too have gone
the entire Indian population of New