The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1906-12-01
Rev. C. E. Freeman Told His
tory Of Thanksgiving
OF CHURCH AND STATE
In Autumn Of 1921, After Their First
Harvest, Pilgrim Fathers Held First
Thanksgiving Service in New World
Episcopal Church Adopts 1t.


rector Of the Church Of the Good shep-
herd, gave an interesting account Of the
history Of the observance Of Thank sgiv.
ing In it's relations between the church
and the state. He said
Thanksgiving day as an institution
Of Church and State il peculiar to these
United States of America. Occasional
observance Of special days 81 Thanks
giving recommended BIZ civil authority
have not been unknown III Europe such
4 Thanksgiving day was observed Ii Ley
den. Holland, October ), 1873. on the
occasion Of the first anniversary 81 the
deliyerance OF that city from siege
such instances, however, have been OF
rare occurrence, ard only Tor events Of
marked Importance.
III this country Thanksgiving day.
al settled annual Feast Of Rejoicing,
was established b. authority III tie
Protestant Episcopal church nearly eigl'
ty years before it eame to receive official
recognition as a national institution ii
the state, The Church Of England has
mo official authorization III Il Day III
Thank SEWING. During the last RS years
Che custom 81 having. i Harvest Home
has become prevalent IN Individual par.
ishe- and dioeeses Of the British Isles,
but the PRAYER book Of the Church 81
England has no special office far tltis &c.
easion The Roman church IN this conn
try did not recognize the day in an on
eiai manner until IssS, while the various
Protestant denominations hayeieVrg 80
served ii as All ecclesiastical institution.
recognizing IL menly as a day Of pub
lie thanF sgiYing appointed hy the eiFil
authority Of the state. This day. as
such, has been the gradual increase Of
It's Observance from the OCCASIONAL in.
stances OF tile colonial period, slowly
becoming settled annual civil feast
in New Frghnd spreading as custom.
in the Southern states, and finally be-
coming established as a national insti-
tuition in 1853
ut was in the autumn Of the year
1861, after tho Pilgrim Fathers at Ply
mouth bad gathered their first harvest
planted in the soil Of the new world,
that the FIRST Thanksgiving festival vas
held. says Winslow in MDnrt's Rela4
ton: In the autumn Of this year the
governor sent four Hcn on fowling. So
that we might after more special man
ueF rejoice together after we had gath.
cred the fruits OF our laboTs' The fes.
tival was repeated the following year
after another fruitful harvest had been
gathered III. when saws Morton in his
Memorial for which mercy, III time con
venient, they also soiemnized day Of
Thanksgiving unto the Lord Ia 1923
a day Of fasting and prayer was APP
pointed on account OF destructive
drought which visited the struggling
colony. While thep we're thus engaged
in sippication the leng.needel rain fell
in copi0ns showers, and We In grateful
acknowledgment Of this signal mark of
divine favor, the governor appointed n
day Of Thanksgiving which was observed
with religious service.
"Ihe spring Of 1851 was a session OF
sickness and almost universal want Ev
eryone was put on the scantiest allow.
anoe Of food; and under these trying
circumstances a day 0f fasting and
prayer fasting an easy duty~-was pro
claimed Before the appointed day came
he ship Lion was reported az NaHtasket.
She was deeply laden with provisions.
and the day of humiliation and suppl
cation was changed to thanksgiving
day.
I'm June 1852, Governor Winthrop
OF Massachusetts, Bay Colony recon.
mended a day of Thanksgiving on the
occasion of the breakdown Of nefarious
attempt made in England 70 cause the
home government to interfere with a
hostile purpose in the affairs Of the col.
ony.
There is record Of the official APP
pointment Of days Of Thanksgiving for
the Massachusetts, Bay Colony III 1888,
1884 1917 1898. 1889 and III Plymouth
in 1851, 1868. 1850, 1859, 1890 III New
Netherland the Dutch governors appoint
ed Thanksgiving days in 1914. 1915,
1855, 1864, and the English governors
Of New York in 1858 and 1860.
During the war Of the American Rev
olution Thanksgiving day was annually
recommended by Congresses; but after
the general Thanksgiving for peace III
1874. there was no national appoint
ment till 1889, when President Washing.
ton recommended a day OF Thanksgiving
for the adoption OF the constitution. In
this same year, 1850. the Protestant
Episcopal church in the United States
Of America formally and finally adopted
their Book of Common Prayer, and ii
IL they instituted Thanksgiving day. AZ
settled annual feast day of the church.
for the first Thursday IN November or
such other day as shall be appointed
BY the civil authority a special form
Of prayer and Thanksgiving being pro-
vided. Thus we see that our church
made Thanksgiving day settled insti.
tuition Of annual Observance for her
members whenever her jurisdiction ex-
tended; while as yet and for many
years after, as a civil institution, Il
was merely occasional or local
"In 1905 Washington issued bis sec
ond Thanksgiving proclamation on the
occasion Of the final suppression of what
i known as the Whiskey Insurreetion,
which had been gathering force for five
years in North Carolina and western
Pennsylvania Again in April, 1915,
when peace with England was again de.
elared. President Madison BY request Of
Congress recommended a day Of Thanks
giving.
"But official recognition Of Thankseiv-
ing day was mainly confined to New
England, where regular annual proela-
nations we're issued By governors Of