The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1915-11-26
Thanksgiving 0bservances Have
Been General Only a Com
paratively Short Time.

THE day which is now called
Thanksgiving day" and which is
a formal observance by proclama-
ton of presidents OF the United
States, usually followed by proclama-
tions Of governors Of nearly all OF the
states, has had its poetry, it's rhyme
which is not poetry, and prosaic liter
ature which is better than either po-
etry or the rhyme. 1t vas in it's orr
gin really a religious observance, the
first proclamations being promulgated
by provincial governors Of very re-
ligious New England, Bradford having
in history the credit of the first proc
lamation.
Observance was in the beginning
desultory. that is, not simultaneous;
and it was not general and synthetic,
really, until 1864, when the first pres
idential proclamation was issued by
Lincoln for a day Of thanksgiving be-
cause of the apparent approaching
end Of the Civil war. Naturally that
day was not observed by the seeded
states, but now it has come to be rec
ognized in nearly all Of the states.
though in many of them it is n a
statutory holiday. 1t is not, and new
er was, a national holiday by legisla-
tive enactment.
Just when the turkey flew in as one
Of the almost imperative accompan1-
ments of the Thanksgiving table Is
mot worth n,npfinnipD &c IL iC an incl
dent so vague. That fowl, with mince
or pumpkin pie as a part OF the des-
sort Of the time-honored dinner Of the
day, has for long years come to be
SO we'll recognized that it has been
urged as the only logical bird for
the eagle having become mighty
"skase,' and having been much
missed Joth in this and other coun-
trio
u 1889, the morning OF June 5, frost
killed all that was killable throughout
the entire North. In October OF the
previous year, as will be well remem'
bered by elderly people who were
children then, the Donati comet sud
denly blazed across the heavens, and
for months was one Of the most beau
tiful Of spectacles, but. to the super
stitious, fear and direful. When the
nucleus was low in the northwest In
the early evening the tail dominated
ell other celestial phenomena, flowing
far past the zenith. The presage of
great Civil war to come was in the
air and to those who were In the leas'
superstitious the comet was a sign o
calamity near at hand. The freezt
Of the following June c)inchtd tn,
p%remonition, and in the fall Of the yea
Of the frost there was a quite general
~ observed day of fasting and prayer
1t was this sort of recognition OF thu
omnipotence OF Deity, solemn and pro
found and utterly sincere, which in tn,
earlier days Of the nation gave founda
tion to the origin of the days Of thanks
giving for the good things Of human
existence, and, when they were not Al
good as they might have been, tina
they were no worse than they we're.
Then the whole custom of setting
apart a day for giving thanks to tn,
Almighty grew gradually into tina
present beautiful intermingling Of re
ligious services. reunion Of familie
and friends, feasting and general re
ioicing. even if the times were porter
tous of adversely for some Of the pee
Piles Of this and other parts of tn
world.
1t is peculiarly an American inst
tuition" and our fat and frivolous fow
of paradise is its fetish. 1t is in a
it's forms and colors, wild or domestic
essentially an American bird, GU
Thanksgiving dinner bird. yesterda
and today and forever. beloved by a
ages and races, and for at least tina
one day putting the Roman lose Q
the eagle out of joint.