The citizen., 1913-11-21

diers of the Continental army In 1883 congress
decided to ask the president to issue proclama
tion asking the people to suspend work and give
thanks certain day of the year There had
been considerable opposition to the passage of
the bill, some of the given being
humorous than serious. President Washington
acquiesced in the wishes of congress and issued
a proclamation appointing November 26 Of that
year as the day for the American people to join
in thanksgiving to God for the care and pro-
lection he had given them in their plentiful
harvest and freedom from epdemics.
From time to time our presidents issued
proclamations but it was generally left to the
governors of the states to determine on what
day 1t should occur Under the administration Of
John Adams two national fast days were OBJ
served. but no real Thanksgiving. 1t was not
until 1915. after three national fasts on account
of the war, that another national Thanksgiving
appointed by the president, James Madison
This due to peace with Great Britain After
this there another lull in procamations as
far as presidents were concerned until 1S49 when
President Taylor set day of fast August the
third on account of the cholera. Meanwhile the
national Thanksgiving day seemed to be dying
out, except in the New England states. Then
the Civil war and the nation was again
summoned to fasting, and two such days were
kept in lS61-JanuaIy and September 26-but
it was not until 1863 that the horizon had so
frightened as to warrant the appointment of
nduOndl THANKSGIVING lmmedlately after the
Battle of Gettysburg Mrs. Sarah j. Hale Boston
woman wrote to President Lincoln suggesting
national thanksgiving and following her advice
the president set apart Thursday, August 6, as
q day of praise and prayer" On November 26
of the same year another Thanksgiving was kept
and this was really a great festival and observed
in every northern state In 1864 the oath of
November kept. After this with one ex-
cepton, our great national day of thanks has
been celebrated on the last Thursday in No
vember.
The presidential proclamations contain very
little that is new or original and usually take the
form of an essay. In 1898, after the Spanish
American war. President Mckinley had a chance
10 vary the conventional form by giving special
thanks for the restoration of peace" This was
just 100 years after Washngton's proclamation.
President Roosevelt who always did original
things declared that Thanksgiving procama-
tion could not be made brilliant epgrammati-
cal paper" The proclamation of the president
stamps the feast with sort of official character
something possessed By other holiday. This
proclamation does not make it a legal holiday
1t merely recommends that the people suspend
business for the day A special statute in each
state is required to make the day legal holi-
day and this has not been enacted in every
state
The day was originally set apart for thanksgiv-
ing, fasting, prayer and religious devotions but
the modern Thanksgiving has become a day of
feasting and iollity. and is made the occasion
Of all sorts of sports and festivities. The craze
for outdoor life keeps many from the churches,
although the places Of worship continue to be
filled with "a goodly company" who gather to
give thanks to him from whom cometh every
good and every perfect gift"
The turkey is still king of the THANKSGIVING
feast and as an addition the good things OF the
field and vineyard have been added. The famous
pigeon pie, which was a popular Thanksgiving
dish In the early part of the nineteenth century,
is rarely seen In these days. The wild pigeons
which alighted in great numbers on the buck
wheat fields. were entced by decoy duck with
in spring net and caught by the hundred,
They were kept alive and fattened on grain until
the day before Thanksgiving, when they were
killed and made into pie for the Thanksgiving
table.
Most of the old customs Of the day have