Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1912-11-27

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on the sea; and the citizens of Lon
don in their liveries that day had a
sermon at st. PauPs cross tending to
that end"
One legal and annual THANKSGIVING
Gay because of the long time it was
such deserves special mention. After
traitors in the gunpowder plot
,Ws. Hn tried and punished in 1906
1t SZ, cred that because of their
deliv.~ +" English people should
keep the @ 'nyember every year
as public ling to Almighty
God, that um> ID thankfulness
may never be forgotten and that all
ages to come may yield praise to
Gods divine majesty for the same. -
The 18th of November continued a
legal thanksgiving day for more than
two centuries, but in later years it
fell into disuse, and in 1888 was
abolished by parliament.
Long before the advent of the pill
grims in Massachusetts,, all rituals
contained expressions of gratitude
to God for his mercies. In that of
the Church of England special pray
ers were provided for the Sunday
service. This service, however must
be carefully distinguished from the
Thanksgiving day of the pilgrim faith
ers. Failure to make this distinction
has led to the groundless claim that
the Popham colonists were the first
to keep Thanksgiving day in Ameri-
ca. The service at Honhegan on
which this claim is based was the reg
ular Sunday service of the Church of
En- GLAND and xvhi1a ole
of thanksgiving the day can in no
day as that term is understood. Con-
temporary evidence refutes all claim
to the contrary.
From "A Relation of Voyage to
Sagadoc" we read as follows: Sun
daye beinge the 9th of August, in the
morninge the most part of our holl
company of both shipes landed on this
Hand, whear the cross standeth; and
thear we heard sermon delyvred un-
to us by our preacher, gyvinge God
thanks for our happy metinge and
safe arrival into the country, and so
returned abord again." (Massachus-
etts Historical society proceedings
xvii, 1929
The record made in his 'Breeches
Bible" by William White, who came
over in the Mayfiower, has far more
significance in determining the orig
in of our American Thanksgiving day
than the event at Monhegen. The
record reads: William White mar
ried on We Sd day of March, 1920, to
Susannah. eTilly. Peregrine White,
born on board ye Mayfower in Cape
Cod harbOr, some. Born to Susan
nah White December 10th, We six
O'Clock morning. Next day we meet
for prayer and thanksgiving" This
meeting for prayer and thanksgiv-
ing was not on Sunday, but on Tues
day. The fact that it was not part
of the regular Sunday service makes
1t more nearly accord with our idea
of Thanksgiving than does the Mon
hegan event. But this similarity is
not sufficient to warrant our regard
ing it as the origin of the American
custom.
The prototype of our present
Thanksgiving day is found in the har-
vest festival at Plymouth in 1921.
The long winter that followed the es-
tablishment of the colony had been
one of great mortality and suffering
Scarcely half of the colony had sur
vived it. ''At one time during the
winter only Brewster, Standish and
five other hardy ones were well
enough to get about" In the spring
and summer that followed their for
tunes improved and by autumn they
had cleared twenty-six acres and had
made it ready for cultivation. This
industry, too, had been rewarded by
bounteous harvest. Now food and
fuel sufficient for the needs OF the
approaching winter were laid in.
Then Governor Bradford ordered a
Thanksgiving-the first in America.
The first Thanksgiving was not for
day only. 1t continued week. In
letter to friend in England, Ed
ward Winslow has given us brief
account of the festivities. This let
ter bears the date of Dec. II, 1921,
and in it Winslow wrote: Our har-
vest beinge gotten in, our governor
sent four men on fowling that so we
might after special manner rejoice
together after we had gathered the
fruits of our labors. They four killed
as much fowl as with little help be-
side served the company about a
week. At which times, among other
recreations, we exercised our arms,
many of the Indians coming amongst
us, and among the rest their greatest
king, Massasoyt, with some ninety
men, whom for three days we enter
tanned and feasted, and they went out
and killed five deer, which they took
back and bestowed on our governor
and upon the captains and others. !"
From other sources We know that
there were athletic contests besides
the exercises of arms which Winslow
mentioned. No doubt they played
at "stoolball," an old form of cro-
quet, and pitch ye bar" which
Bradford mentions in his journal.
There were no special religious sery-
ices-at least there is no evidence of
any. The pilgrims had their daily
prayers before breakfast. In this
service and in the joyous spirit that
seems to have dominated the occa-
sion as we'll, there was, no doubt, a
devout thanksgiving to God for all
the blessings he had vouchsafed' them.
1t has been repeatedly assert
ed that this Thanksgiving festival
was suggested to the pilgrims by the
lavish "feast of ingathering" This,