Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1912-11-27
THANKSGIVING ORIGIN
idea of Day of Thanksgiving Comes
from RemOtest Antiquity.
a..
CUSTOM ESTABLISHED
IN OLDEN EGYPT
: Interesting Historical Sketch of Man.
ner in Which Various Peoples
Gave Thanks for
Blessings.
BY DIR. John William Perrin.

BY DR.. John William Perrin.
The idea is prevalent in the United
States that our Thanksgiving festival
is peculiarly an American custom of
New England origin. This is true in
part only. The general observance
through many years of a set day on
which to give thanks to Almighty
God for his blessings has made the
custom distinctively American; but
It's origin long antedates the settle
ment of this western continent, and
We must look elsewhere for it.
The idea of Thanksgiving day goes
back to remotest antiquity. 1t is a
part of natural religion, and is prob
ably as old as the human race. In
written records we have ample evil
dence that the festival was celebrated
in connection with 1.-The fruits of the
earth by the ancient Egyptians, the
Jews, the Greeks and the Romans.
Long before Luthers revolt from
Rome in the sixteenth century it had
been observed by the Christians; and
after the reformation, thanksgiving
days were in frequent use by the Prot
estants, especially those of England.
In old Egypt, when the harvest had
been gathered, 1t was the custom to
observe day of feasting and to lay
offerings upon the altars of Isis, the
goddess of agriculture. The Jewish
festival was the ''ingathering," or the
feast of the tabernacle mentioned
in Exodus and other parts of the Old
Testament. This was more particu-
larly a thanksgiving for the fruit har-
vest, and as it came at the close of
the entire harvest, it probably was
intended also as a general thanksgiy-
ling for the bounty of nature in the
year that had passed.
This festival appears early in Jew
ish history, and, as it was connected
with the land and it's possession, may
have had Canaanitish prototype. Its
celebration was annual and each fes-
tival continued through seven days.
AT the beginning two vessels of sill
ver'' were carried in a eeremonious
manner to the temple, one full of wat
er, the other of wine, which were
poured at the foot of the altar of
burnt offerings always on the seventh
day of the festival.
Plutarch describes this ceremonial
which he believed was feast to Bac-
chus. He says: 1.-The Jews celebrat-
ed two feasts to Bacchus. In the
midst of the vintage they spread ta-
-s'-a, spread with all manner of fruits
and lived in. tabernacles made special
ly of palms and ivy wreaths together.
A few days later they kept
another festival which was openly
dedicated to Bacchus, for they carried
boughs of palms in their hands, with
which they went into the temple, the
Levites going before with instru-
ments e music"
Analoss to the Jewish festival
and possibly borrowed from it was
that of the old Greeks, the Thesmor-
phia. This was feast to Demeter,
the goddess of the harvest. 1t lasted
nine days and consisted of sacrifices
of the products of the soil with obla-
tions of wine, milk and honey" The
ocritus refers to 1t in the Seventh
Idyl, where Simichidas says: Now
this is our way to the Thalysia, for
our friends, in sooth, are making a
feast to Demeter of the beautiful
robe, offering the first fruits OF their
abundance, since for them in bounte-
Gus manner the goddess has piled the
threshing floor with barley"
The goddess of the Roman harvest
was Ceres Her festival was celebrat-
ed annually and was called Ceralia.
1t was day for worship and rustic
sports. Men and women formed pro-
cessions and went to the fields with
music. Virgil refers to this festival.
He mentions the sacrifices that were
offered in the temples and alludes to
the joyousness of the occasion.
In one way or another Thanksglv-
ing day had been observed in Chris
tian Europe for centuries before its
celebration in New England On the
continent, and for time in England,
il occurred at Martinmas, which was
a day of feasting and drinking. Oc-
casionally, too, civil authorities rec
commended the observance of some
fixed day. To celebrate the victory
of King Henry v of England at Agin-
court, Oct. 25, 1415, public thanks
giving was held on Sunday, the feast
of st. Edward, the king and confess
.sor. Such a day, too, was observed
in Leyden, Holland, Oct. 8, 1875, the
first anniversary of that city from the
siege of the Spaniards.
Many instances of thanksgiving
days can be pointed out in England
During the SiAtccHth anu oo'ohSOAei'
centuries. In 1859, the second year
of Elizabeth's reign, Thanksgiving
day entered Rogation day. Then 1t
was ordered that thanks should be
given to Almighty God "for the in
crease and abundance of his fruits
upon the earth" In this reign, too,
there was great national thanksgiv-
ing day that is worthy of note. This
occurred on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1888,
and was in commemoration OF the
great victory over the 'invincible
armada" 1t has been described by
Nicol in his Progress of Queen Eliz-
abeth," by Stowe and by some other
contemporary writer's. We are told
that 1.-The day was kept holy through
out the realm, with sermons, singing
of psalms. bonfires, etc., for JOY and
Thanksgiving unto God for the over