The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-11-29
THANKSGIVING.

The following beautiful and sensible
editorial is from the Baltimore Sun of
yesterday:
Yes, joyful and pleasant thing it
Is to he thankful" the Psalmist sang,
and so people ought not only to be
thankful on Thanksgiving Day, but
joyful as well. In this country the
observance OF day of thanksgiving is
regarded somewhat as a New England
institution, and for that reason it was
slow to spread to the other parts of
the country. 1t had been observed in
New England for almost two centuries
before the custom made its way across
the boundary into New York. 1t did
not reach as far South as Virginia
until 1855, and Lincoln Established the
custom of issuing thanksgiving procla-
tions by the Presidents. The South
looked with suspicion upon the festival
because it was regarded as a rival of
Christmas Day, the great winter holi-
day and feast day Of the South and of
nearly the whole of the English-speak-
ing world outside of New England.
In point Of fact, Thanksgiving Day is
far older than the Christian religion
1t was practiccd by the Children of
Israel in their Feast of Tabernacles,
and in England it takes the form OF
the Harvest Home feasts.
To give thanks for the fruits of the
earth is natural impulse of mankind,
and the custom of having an annual
thanksgiving originates among people
who derive their living from the fields.
The farmer lives by faith and hope.
He can pillow the ground, plant the
seed and till the crops. But unless
the rain and dew come from heaven
his labor is but lost. His eye instinc-
lively turns beavenvard. When the
rain fails lie prays for it when It
comes he gives thanks for it. 1t is
useless for the skeptic to tell the people
that the laws of nature which control
the fall of rain, the return Of seed time
and harvest, are immutably fixed and
that the Creator cannot or will not
alter them; that prayer cannot avail.
Men cannot be convinced that the
Creator Of this vast universe has alb
dicated His throne and that after
making man has lost all inteles in
him. That is hard saying which
the great mass of humanity in ali ages
has refused absolutely to believe. The
farmer seems more than others to be
directly dependent upon the favor of
of Divine Providence, although all are
equally dependent
Feasting seems to go along with
thanksgiving, and so Thanksgiving
Day is a day OF feasting, and famili, S,
when it can be done, hold reunions so
that they can make merry together
The Governor, in his proclamation,
recommends as program for the day
rest from all secular employment,
devotion of the day to appropriate
religious services, to family gatherings,
social festivities and helping the poor
and unfortunate, and the last should
be one of the most important pleasures
of the day.
In this latitude the last of Novem-
Der is generally mild enough to permit
outdoor sports, and it is the beginning
of The hunting season. To take to the
fields and mountains with dogs and
gun is a far more wholesome way of
spending holiday than to remain in
the house and eat too much. The
first New England Thanksgiving Day
was day of hunting, and four men
were sent to the forest by the Cover
nor of the Colony for game for the
Thanksgiving feast, and they brought
back enough to last a week