The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1912-11-27

plot had been tried and punished IN 16o5 II was
ordered that because Of their del1Verance tne
English people, should keep the 9th OF November
every year "as a public thanksgiving to Almighty
God, that unfeigned thankfulness may never oe
forgotten and that all ages to come may ylela
praise to Gods divine majesty for the same.
The 18th of November continued a legal tnanks-
giving day for more than two centuries, put III
later years It fell into disuse. and IN 1883 was
abolished by parliament.
Long before the advent Of the pilgrims IN
Massachusetts,, all rituals contained expressions
of gratitude to God for his mercies. IN tnat Oh
the Church of England special prayers were pro-
vided for the Sunday service. This service now
ever, must be carefully distinguished from the
Thanksgiving day Of the pilgrim fathers. Failure
to make this distinction has led to the groundless
claim that the Popham colonists were the nrst
to keep Thanksgiving day" In America. Inc
service at Monhegan on which this claim Is based
was the regular Sunday service Of the Church OF
England, and while it had an element of thanks
giving the day can in nowise be regarded as a
THANKSGIVING day as that term is understood.
Contemporary evidence refutes all claim to the
contrary.
From "a Relation of Voyage to Sagadoc" we
read as follows: "Sundaye befnge 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 a
sermon delyvred unto us by our preacher, gyvinge
God thanks for our happy metinge and safe aruan
into the country, and so returned abord again"
Massachusetts Historical society proceedings,
xvii, 1922
The record made in his "Breeches Bible" by
William White, who came over in the Mayfower,
has far more significance in determining the
origin Of our American Thanksgiving day than
the event at Monhegan. The record reads: "Will-
lam White married on ye Sd day Of March. 1920,
to Susannah Tilly. P~eregT1ne White, born on
board We Mayf1ower in Cape Cod harbor, some.
Born to Susannah White December 18th. We six
o'clock morning. Next day we meet for prayer
and THANKSGIVING" This meeting for prayer
and thanksgiving" was not on Sunday, but on
Tuesday. The fact that 1t was not a part OF the
regular Sunday service makes 1t more nearly ac-
cord with our idea Of Thanksgiving day than
does the Monhegan event. But this similarity
is not sufficient to warrant our regarding 1t as the
origin Of the American custom.
The prototype of our present Thanksgiving day
is found in the harvest festival at Plymouth In
1921. The long winter that followed the estab-
lishment of the colony had been one of great NOR
tally and suffering Scarcely half Of the colony
had survived it. cat one time during the winter
only Brewster. Standish and five other hardy
ones were we'll enough to get about In the
spring and summer that followed their fortunes
improved, and by autumn they had cleared TWEEN
ty-six acres and made it ready for cultivation.
This industry, too, had been rewarded by a boun-
teous 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.
This first Thanksgiving was not for a day only.
It continued a week. In a letter to a friend in