The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1909-11-25
THANKSGIVING.

To-day the churches throughout the
land will hold fitting services for the cele'
bration of Thanksgiving Day. The GUS
tom of thanksgiving is not peculiar to the
Pilgrim Fathers, as often asserted by
thoughtless writer's. New York records
show that Dutch Thanksgiving Day was
proclaimed on Manhattan Island for De-
cember 20, 1920, which really antedates its
institution by the Pilgrim Fathers. There
fore New York might take issue with Mas
sachusetts as to credit for the origin OF
Thanksgiving Day. From that day until
1914 Thanksgiving Day was yearly OBJ
served in the New Amsterdam. There
were earlier, and are, of course, occa-
sional thanksgiving days in other countries,
but only in the United States is it a fixed
national feasts.
Thanksgiving! What significance is
borne by that one word to-day! What a
blessing to the world is this spirit that
once year kindles the gentler fires of love
and gratitude! There are many of us, nc
doubt, who will not feel in very thankful
mood for various and sundry reasons. But
if we will but reflect that our life, our
health, or position, financial and social,
our all was given to US, for no price what
ever except for our contentment and love,
we will see how unreasonable will be our
fits of sulks and tantrums. If we could
count up, which would be we'll nigh i'm
possible, the numerous benefits and bless
ings which God has seen fit to bestow upon
US, and then should count up the numbers
and numbers of times we had been dis
contented and unthankful, we would find
the former outweighing the latter still.
For we can never be able to grumble at all
that happens, try as we might, SO why not
put brave face on the matter and be
thankful for all we can instead of making
life miserable for ourselves and those about
US. The first requisite of Christian life
is unselfishness, and discomfort is certainly
not the true idea of unselfshness.
"For she had heard how that the Lord
had visited his people in giving them bread :"
10 VIC "oy q Y uoAuS ouu OOoutlAuI OIO DAOlC
story speaks of the lifting of the famine
and the sending to a stricken people of a
plentiful harvest of barley and of corn.
That was the ancient, the theocratic way
of looking at it. God himself had come
down to his people, and in his right hand
he had brought the fruitful rains, the
glorious sunshine, and the waving har-
vests of ripening grain. But should not
that also be the Christian way of looking
at the matter? In fact, is it not the only
true Christian, and the only really happy,
spirit that realizes that life and all that life
has, is gift, an out-and-out gift, from
God. Blessed is the man that has come to
the full realization of the fact that his
mercies and all the abundance of his good
things come from the hand of loving
Fataer. More blessed still is he who sees
the hand of that same Father in all the
discipline and trial and sorrow of his
earthly way. But blessed beyond all de-
gree is he who knows that with each gift,
whether of good or seeming i'll, the Father
freely and fully gives Himself. When we
rea'lze that what God sends us to-day is
the best he has for us in all the great store
house Of his love, then we can truly and
gladly rejoice in Him. And that is the
true Thanksgiving.