The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1890-11-28
a New England Thanksgiving.


The New England genius is famed for
its inventiveness, and among I'll its dis
j coveries and achievements, none is finer
that its institution of ksgiving
! festival This festal day has far trans
ccnded its primitive hahitation, being
now national in its scope and acceptance,
promising indeed 10 become international
in its celebration. The observance of
this dav is of older date than is some
times supposed. 1t reaches back to the
early DAYS of the Plymouth Colony, while
jamestown was still an infant settlement,
and Boston vet dream. 1t arose out Of
the tremendous religious consciousness Of
the Puritan spirit, and it is said, so Jar as
the material side is concerned, that at
first it could only be celebrated with clans.
dried corn and cold water. But people
who could lie thus thankful III the midst Of
barren land and savage population,
were endowed with sufficient energy to
MAKE the dessert blossom as the rose,
and spread the influence of great princi-
Piles throughout continent.
Thanksgiving is fifty placed at the end
of the harvest season. 1t especially ;yp-
fes the sririt Of gratitude for the material
blessings Of life, the fruitage OF spring
and summer. secdtimc and harvest, and
those collateral enjoyments which form
the substance of nations material pros
pertv. 1t has never lost its old religious
significance, and in New England at least,
the Thanksgiving sermon is as essential
part of the day as the dinner.
The well-known New England pies
mince, apple, pumpkin, Washington, etc.
of which Emerson's fondness is so rep
resentative of his race, form the sweet
constituency of Thanksgiving breakfast.
The morning is largely devoted to the
church service of song and sermon, the
latter being is usually divided between
the consideration of nationa; topics and
the charms OF domestic felicity. Perhaps
this is one of the reasons why so many
marriages in New England take place on
or around Thanksgiving day. Another,
even more effective, probably, is the assem-
hlage of all the scattered members of the
family Mt the old homestead. From the
west and east, the south and north they
come, and for day make the old walls,
that knew their childhood laughter, reechO
once again with statelicr mirth and deeper
ioy, touched it may be with some of
those shadows which, as Hawthorne says.
.'bring our pleasures into high relief and
make them happiness" Until recently,
not even Christmas had such potency to
assemble the widely scattered New Eng
land families as the old time Thanksgiving
day.
4 typical Thanksgiving dinner is not IL
theme to be adequately treated in words.
unless they were delivered amid the fra
GRANGE of the stcaming turkey, touched
with the tart wit of the currant and
capped with the rotund completion OF
plum pudding But We lingcr over edible
delights which are perhaps, even better
ain memory than present. CONSCIOUSNESS.
The dinner prolongs itself into the shad-
OwS OF early twilight, ana then gathering
about the tircsidc the evening flashes by,
spcd with those hearty old colonial games
which are among tie few things that have
come down 10 us from amid the ice and
snow of Paritanic days. We may not
rightly speak OF the sparkling CLEAN OF
the snow, as the merry sieigh-beils hill
with hcetimg music the starlight journey
to some neieuboring home, all too near.
Long may this old New England fesli-
val prosper and spread its power far and
wide, 1t will never harm us 10 be happy,
nor are we likely to be too often So
While the warmer Southland is offering
more and more to its northeastern neigh
bors its elements of wealth and power,
may it also accept, in exchange of courte-
sizes, the complete and hearty enjoyment
in all its features Of this festival OF
Thanksgiving.