Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-11-29
ORIGIN OF THE DAY.
uo,y Thanks giving Came to
Be a Holiday.
p.r,,nu. Import II Into Ne" Eng
- The Duich Method Of Keep
Ing the Day In Ne" York
r,.oaz;ne of American History

.kx.
snnposed to have met says - u :. 80,
Jsyp,ed to Thanksgiving DHy' 80
= connected with 1t are no sueelr'',io,.7
,;.es handed down from the i,ni.iciii'
,isi. no revelings IN baroni'i uia
M decorations Of houses anu chu'ono' '..1.'
with parlands or evergreehS ~ VOC
sailines, no sboutingss, no ,ioD',,,ino ctio.s, o
:.,,s dissiuatlou. Thanksgiving
no. h,o moi always kept the select
snn,anv @ supposed by the writer re.
Srld - Nor can II be said tbst u
sas New England that impaired 10 the
- ire sounber features, for 1t had such
~s,nres and was made compulsory like
,sa sunday observances. Where, then,
III, ye look for the origin OF hanks
s:v;no2 ? A writer ia the N'o kngtande'
ISIS, .. 24O) says
Tbere is a certain tradition which
uanders abozt New England in law
,ssa lind of way, and which undertakes
IN account for the origin of lhhnksgiV-
inc Dav. The story runs somewhat a-
soovs: In the early days oi the Ne"
cnIand settlements the people some
mhere were gathered together To con
s;der the propriety OF appointing day
,or fasting and prayer, IN we" OF the
many sorrows and calamlties by which
,hev we're then encompass ed. ohe
h,other. more cheerful hearted THAI the
rsSt yentnred to suggest the propriety
a eountiup up the many blessings
wb;cb had fal en- to their lot, and iin-
o,sosed his thoughts SO deeply upon the
'n;nda of those present that they con
sIuded TO appoint day Of Thanksgiving
instead of day of fasting. From this
snciept circumstance We have our mod
an festival. Twice, within year or
Two. We have encountered this tradition
somipg from the pulpit on lhhnksglv-
inc Day, From tins and other mel
asnts of a similar kind We have been led
N beIieye that the people ut large naFo
,stber obscure ideas on the general sub
;sct II il not at all unlikely that some
where and at some time, III Is local New
England church, matters took shape III
tha vay described in the above tradi-
tion. But it Is qulte certain that our
November festival did not h We Its or
iQin in that manner.
The writer then goes on to say that
,hs origin of the day IL hard to find,
uggesting that Increase Mather, IL
alive, could tell all about 1t. Yet the
origin OF the story which he recites ~
preserved in the ancient records OF
ChsrlestOvn, where, under date Oh
pebruary5, 1851, we learn that the fast
day previously appointed "was changed,
and ordered to be kept as day OF
,haukspiving," OH account Of the arrival
Of a ship with provisions.
ANTIQUITY OF THE IDEA.
The idea of Thanksgiving Day is as
old az the human race. Ii IL part OF
natural religion. In connection with
The fruits of tie earth, the thanksgiving
festival has been celebrated from the
rsnotest antiquity. We find 1t in the
{ Seventh Idyll of Theocritus. Plntarch
tells of the Emperor who, after his re-
turn 10 Rome from disastrous oam-
Nign, concealed the facts and pro
sained Il THANKSGIVING" which was
duIy observed; explaining, when the
hcts came to be known, that he did not
wish to deprive the people of day OF
Enjoyment. Under the Hebrew dis
gnsatiOn THANKSGIVING was observed
q the Feast of Tabernacles. or OF the
lngsthering; earlier in the season there
bang the festival of First Fruits, in
@nnection with which the people were
reminded of the giving of the law. The
dea Of law was also connected with the
feest of Demeier or Ceres; and the an
LOey between the classic and the He
brew festival is significant and worthy
u Investigation. But the ancient
thanksgiving did not, as some have
hncied, skip over the ages TO find an
e1clusive home in America. In one way
q another it was always observed. On
Nc Continent, AS in parts of England,
occurred at Martinmas. Indeed. 1t
vas a popular institution In England
before it had a foothoid i'll hassachu
ntts Butler, who wrote m l65l, gives
better idea of the true state of things
afew lines than could be gwen by
nv formal history;
tu Hudibras who thought he 'ad won
lheheld as certain as "A gun,
And having routed the whole troop,
With victory WAS cock "a hoop;
Thinking head done enough To pur-
chase
thanksgiving Day among the Churches.
THANKSGIVING DAY IN ENGLAND.
When We 60 back to the century be-
lore Butler, il is found to be- illed uI
Ulh fasting and thankgiviDgs, es.
pcially during the time of Elizabeth
y the publications. of the Parker So
eiety prove. Under Elizabeth II wa
sspressly ordered that on Thanksgiving
Day no servile labor should be per
lomed, and heavy penalties were at
nched to the violation of the order
The New England WORTHLESS adopted
sAe principle. In 1859 Thanksgiving
uttered into Rogation Day. and II WA
Rdsred that thanks. should he otferee
for the increase and abundance of Hi'
/ lults upon the face of the earth" III
Ae Seventeenth century the custom
sas continued, and in the year l1t9
vten Massachusetts WAS dunb, Henr,
peaks in his published sermon OF ih'
"a DeuNs, proclamations. forms q
layers aud thanksgivings, sermons
u, that ahpunded. Such, then. Wa
As.ate of things in New England. La
aed, Just before the Plymoth colonist
Ams over the special thank sgivlng
I'D been Incorporated into tile Praye
Sook. while Coplaud's "Nirginia's Go,
y &thanked," preached before the Nir
enia Company in Bow Church. Illus
mted the tendency of the times, h.
&ng followed by DIR. Donne. Th'
My settlers brought with them ira
esaonal respect for days of thanks
Inng. Nevertheless, false notions ol
Hh subject abound, and fhankgivini
osyis popularity supposed To have beo'
ahllshed first at Plymouth. and con
suosd without interruption from tn
aacinR until now; while a supplement
~ theory declares that the socalle'
gnators u the festival intende'
aefeey to suppress Christmas.
FIRST SERVICES IN NEW ENGLAND.
10 the first place, however, il must b
ssAsed that the earliest service of thi
.no was held by Church of Englan
n, the Popham coionists, who, Aug
-, 1907, (O.S.) landed u~on Moht
~ near the kennebeo, aud under th
oow of high cross listened to
I9n by Captain Seymour, also "gyv
uod thanks for our happy melting
- Mue aryvall into the contry." Mex
spsss to Plymouth, where i'll 1921, tn
Numn after the arrival, u notabl
s.a.soiving vas held. The brief &C
hs,r hr's present joyous picture. As "
e.,a nom Winston, the harvest bein
e.sSe'ed, 4. the Governor seat four ME
S.:vShng, that SO We might, after
r. manner, Rejoice together" an