Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1896-11-26
THE STORY OF THANKSGIVING.

For many years lnaHhsSNIHS LAY
was peculiarly a New England instItu-
ton, and even at the present time its
observation means more there than III
other parts of the country. 1t may al
most be called the day of the year III
New England. It is what Christmas Is
in Old England, a day of family reunions
and family feasts. The church bells ring
in the morning, as on Sunday and at Christ
mas and the people wend their way to
the services. to return home afterwa-d
and get ready their dinners or prepare
themselves for dinners elsewhere. Grand
pa and grandma welcome all their chill
dren and grandchildren TO their board,
some coming from Just across the way,
and others perhaps from tar distant
homes. For, no matter how far he may
wander, the New Englander feels 1t a
duty, beside beirg pleasure, to be at the
old home on this day, more than any
other day of the year, and to eat his
THANKSGIVING dinner with the old folks.
And so, from far and near, on this day,
families are gathered together and III
thousands of homes turkey and cranber-
~ sauce and other Thanksgiving delica-
cies are eaten by kith and kin. It IS
day of family communion and rejoicing,
and real thanksgiving; day when un-
kind thoughts are put aside and each one
turns t. his neighbor his brightest side.
But with all the rejoicing and feastlng
and thanksgiving, there are very few who
stop to question why this day Is observed
in this way or, in fact why 1t IS observed
at all. and even of these who wonder,
there are not :Iany who inquire. But
there must have been beginning and
reason for the beginning, and indeed
there was, but to find 1t we must go
back more than two centuries and half.
Thus of all holidays, 1t IS older than any
but Christmas and New Years Day,
though the spirit which promoted its OBJ
servance in the beginning was the spirit
which descended to the men OF 70. and
gave Us another holiday, Independence
Day.
Thanksgiving Day is the annual fes--
tival of thanksgiving for the mercles oi
the closing wear. and is practically a ma
tioual harvest festival, fixed by procla-
nation of the President and the govern
ors of the state, and ranks as a legal
holiday. The earliest harvest thanks
giving in America was kept by the Pill
grim Fathers at Plymoth in 1921. In
the autumn of that year Governor Brad
ford sent out four men to gather game
SO that the whole colony might "reJolce
together, after they had gathered the
fruits of their labor. The following
wear at the same season, alter the abun-
dant harvest was collected, the colonlsts
assembled, and, as an old chronicle says
| 'solemnized day of thanksgiving unto
The Lord" Another account says that
Massasoit and his chiefs were invited to
participate in the rejoicings, and that
they remained three days, feasting on
venison.
The first recorded public thanksgiving
appointed by authority, however was
proclaimed by the governor of Massa-
chusetts Bay Colony in 1881, and turned
to a happy ending a drama which might
| have been tragedy. The new colony
had been only few months in the new
world But little had been done IN the
way of planting crops and tn =se had not
turned out over we'll The people were
mainly dependent for their provisions
dpou England, but a long expected ship
| ladened with supplies had not come, and
| the winter was hard and famine was
threatened. The food had became less
and less, as the people strained their
ewes for the sail that did not appear. The
quantity of food allowed each person be
| came smaller and smaller as day by day
went by, and the prospects became most
dismal, Starvation stared the people III
the face and their hopes were at the low
est ebb when the vessel from England
| ladeaed with provisions, was sighted en-
tering the barber, according to one tradl-
ton, Just as the governor was giving
| away his last handful of corn. What re
| ioicings there were then, although the
| l'uritans were too stolld to 1ndulge Ill
the gambolings with which the more
| mercurial French would have ex-
hibited their delight under such clrcum-
| stances.
The 22d of February had been appoint
| ed to be observed as fast day but after
the arrival of the ship the governor is
tsued new proclamation, and the day
| instead was made feast day and day
| Of thanksgiving. The good people OF
the colony went to church as we do now
| only they listened TO much longer ser
| serving them from starvation, and then
| went home and feasted: for the Purltans
were sturdy men and loved the good
things of the table, even if their stern
| religion caused them to frown on the
other good things of tie world.
Though the Thanksgiving of today IS
| perhaps more than anything else har-
vest festival, yet, as Ill this instance,
| hanks have been offered for their rner-
| cirs, ami days of thanksgiving have been
| appointed from various causes. 1t seems
| to have been natural in all the colonies,
even in those settled by other people
| than the English, to set apart days Tor
rendering thanks to the Highest Power
| for blessings received, and III New Eng
| land the practice has been almost con-
| tinuous since that far away day, and that
vessels timely arrival. In the New
Netherlands Governor Kieft proclaimed
public thanksgiving in 1914, on ac-
| count of a victory over the Indians, and
again in I645, because of the conclusion
OF peace. Thanksgivings, sometimes gem
eral and sometimes partial, were ap-
pointed in the several colonies, and ear y
in the war for independence the Cont
mental Congress adopted the practice,
| and thereafter appointed such days an
nually.
The first national Thanksgiving day
was appointed by Washington after the
adoption of the Constitution. the date set
being Thursday Nov, 70, 1889. In Sep
te,nber of that year. few days before
the adjournment of Congress Elias Bou-
duct moved in the House of Representa-
tives that the President be requested to
a ld( VI puDliI lIlhiAAo iNAA4Sj
and prayer to be observed by the people
of the United States, in acknowledgment
of the many signal favors of the Almighty
God, and especially his affordipg them
the opportunity peacefully to establish
constitution of government for their safe
ty and happiness. Roger Sherman OF
Connecticut supported the motion though
there were a number of cavillers ready to
oppose it. Aedanus Burk of South Caro-
lima did not like this "mimicking" Eu-
ropean customs and Tucker of Virginia
intimated that it might be as well TO wait
for some experience of the effect of the
Constitution before returning thanks for
it:besides he thought the question ought
to be left to the authorities of the several
states. In spite of these objections how
ever, the motion was carried, and Wash
ington issued proclamation in accord
ance with the vote, issuing another for
the general benefit and welfare Of the
nation in 1895
Successive Presidents were moved rom
time to time to do likewise and as early
as 1898 the days of thanksgiving pro-
claimed by them began TO receive the
sanction of the various church bodies.
The Book of Common Prayer, revised i'll
that year for the use of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in America, directs
the first Thursday i'll November-unless
another day be appointed by the civil
authorIti es-"to be observed as a day Of
thanksgiving to Almighty God for the
fruits of the earth " etc The last of the