The Bottineau pioneer., 1893-12-02

-tionsn--that Is, for the little ham.e's ,,aas,n
that were springing up around i'ostNh ,
as q center. In 1882, day OF pun,
liaue thanksgiving throughout ti.e n.nt sll,".t
blahtacons" was appointed by the coulV
in London in recognition Of the LII Z!
cf God youchsafed to the churc1es y,
God in Germany and the Paila t!ha.e.
And SO the record goes on ln1lcatlns
thanksgiyings of various kinds ana 1oi
div ers purposes ordered by the !ocal
authorities in the different localitles.
T,he general court of Massachusetts Bay
appointed a day Of thanksgiving TOR a
bountiful harvest on Oct. 16, 1883, ana
this is the earliest official record OF
the establishment that was destnneu ~
follow. Until 164G, we may assume
that the harvests were so aDunuaht
that the people forgot to De thanHlui'
but in that year, and in 1864 ana 1olio".
ing years, the custom was somewhat
irregularly observed This conunueu
until 1850, when the form or recon-
mendation indicated that the autumnal
Thanksgiving had gained recognition
as an annual festival. That 1t to some
extent supplanted the English Christ
mas is probably true, for whatever sa-
vored of Rome, or even of eplscopacy,
was held in disfavor in New England
until comparatively recent date.
That Thanksgiving day was, two hun
dred years ago, popularity and generally
observed in England as well is shown
by the following passage:
For Hudibras who thought he 'ad won
The field as certain as a gun,
And having routed the whole troop,
With victory was a cock-a-hoop;
Thinking he 'ad done enough to pur-
chase
Thanksgiving day among the churches.
Thus wrote. Butler in 1861, during
Oliver Crom wells tenure of power,
and it clearly proves that at time
when the observance Of the day was
but just beginning to be regularly kept
in this country, the English recognized
the day very generally as one Of JOY
and feasting. Other authors Of that
time might be quoted to similar pur-
pose. During the revolutionary period
Thanksgiving became national, con-
gress annually recommending day to
b. set apart for this purpose, but after
the general thanksgiving for peace in
1854 the custom was omitted until the
adoption of the federal constitution in
1889, when Washington, at the sug-
gestion Of congress, appointed Thurs
day, Nov. 26, for national observance.
This was given at New York on Oct.
3, and although the proclamation was
distinctly for political rather than for
agricultural blessings, it was fixed fo;-
the orthodox the last Thursday in No
yember, and it may be taken as the
pioneer of presidential thanksgiving
proclamations. BY this time the fes-
tival had attained regular official rec
ognition throughout New England, and
the governors Of the different states
sent out their proclamations which
were duly read in the pulpits Of their
respective churches, usually on the
Sunday after their receipt, as we'll as
on the appointed day. In most of the
New England states the Congrega-
tional was the established church." :"
but other denominations fell into line
without marked opposition, and in the
same year 07S9) the Protestant Epis-
copal prayer book recognized the au-
thority of the civil government in the
matter. AS the West was generally
settled from New England the Thanks
giving custom was perpetuated in most
VI IAc Ac" Stdtes, DuI IL ulu uot Ou-
tain recognition in the South until
1853. when eight Southern governors
sent forth proclamations much after
the New England model, and much to
the distaste of some of the more vio-
lent opponents Of Yankee ideas. -
Then, in 1862, President Lincoln rec
commended special days for thanksgiv-
ing, and since the civil war the practice
has assumed the regularity Of official
routine, and may be regarded as a ma
tional institution.
The great distinctive feature of
Thanksgiving is now, as 1t has been
for many years, the roasted turkey.
bathed in a rich earmine dye of cram
berry. Atince pie, for long period Of
years a feature Of Thanksgiving din
ners, has Of late fallen into stage of
''innocuous desuetude," so to speak. At
least, this is the case in the West and
South. But amoug Westerners of New
England the mince pie is still kept up
as the last item on the bill of fare.
However, the turkey and the cranber-
ries are the chief features.