The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-11-29
HOW THE DAY
ORIGINATED.
Some Interesting Facts
Concerning the OBJ
servanCe OF Thanks
giving Day.

Thanksgiving proolamations have come
to be almost routine documents in thes
days. and yet some Of them possess an In
terest which will never wholly fade away
because Of the stirring events In Americal
history which led to their promu cation,
Others ara Of interests because of their
oddity. Such a ono is that issued last
month by Governor George W. Atkinson,
Of West Virginia. 1t consists OF six
lines of proclamation proper andis padded
out to portentious length by the addition
OF 20 tex's Of Scripture. all bearing upon
the subject Of giving thanks.
West Virginians unfamiliar with tine
Bible might lo:led to bsllevs, by looking
upon this array. that their Governor must
have road tho Scriptures with great Zeal
and diligence from his youth up to be able
to call to mind SO many appropriate texts
just when lie wanted them but refrencs to
the useful pages of concordance will
show all the.texts which the::Governor has
quoted, printed there In neat column,
with many Others, convenient to his hand.
Here Is one of the Governors chosen
texts: Romans xiv. 6-"He that regardeth
the day regardeth 1t unto the Lord, and
he that rcgardeth not the day to the Lord
ho doth not regard 1t. He that oateth. eat.
eth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks
Among Anglo-Saxons in early times
Thanksgiving Day was often held for
some special reason, and observance was
obligatory. Queen Elizabeth issued a
proclamation for the observance of a day
Of Thanksgiving which required special re
ligious observances saying; Cd
On Thanksgiving Day no servie labor
may be performed, and thanks should be
offered for tie increase and abundance Of
His fruits upon the face of the earth.
FIRST IN NORTH AMERICA,
The first thanksgiving services held in
North America was. s..obssrveI By religious
ceremonies conducted by priest of ths
Church of England, named WolfalI iu
1878, on tho shores Of Newfoundland He
accompanied the expedition under Fro
bisher, which brought the first English
colony to settle on thess shores.
The earliest recorded observa nee of a
similar service within the present territory
OF the United S;ates was held by the Pop
ham Colony. which settled at Sagadahoc,
on the coast OF Maine, In August, 1907.
FIRST BY GOVERNOR.
But these rwere mere thanksgiving |
services. The real origin of Thanksgiving
as day specially set apart for prayer and
rejoicing Is attributed TO Governor Brad
ford, the first Governor of Massachusetts
Colony, who, in gratitude for the bounti.
full harvest Of 1921, gave direction for the
Observance of day Of thanksgiving to be
held on December 81 Of that year.
sSFss7' GEORGE wAsHINGToN's FIRST.
During the Revolution Thanksgiving
became national, Congress annually re-
commencing day to be set apart for this 4
purpose. bug after the general Thanks.
giving for Peace in 1884 tho custom was
omitted until the adoption Of the federal
In 1889, when President
appointed Thursday, Novem-
Der 20. for a national observance. This
vas given at New York on October 8, and
nay be taken ns.the pioneer OF Presiden-
,ial Thanksgiving proclamation.
FIRST IN THE SOUTH.
By this time the festival had attained Of
lcial recognition Throughout New Eng
and md the Governors of the different
States sent out their proclamations regu-
arly. The West, being largely settled
rom the East, readily fell into line but
Day did not obtain tfioi al
scognition in the South until ls5s when
light Southern Governors sent forth pro-
lamations, after the Now England model,
mid much criticism from opponents of
Yankee notions
President Lincoln, in lS62-63-6i, ::recom-
nended special days OF thanksgiving and
nce the Civil War the practice has been {
nbrohsn. Here Is an extract from Mr.
ncoln's last proclamation Of this kind, {
eforo he was assasslnatcd. 1t Is dated S
october 20. 1864, I