Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1915-11-26
Thanksgiving Observance W.,
Been General Only a Com ~
paratiyeIy Short Time.
THE day which is now

on is now calo,
j Thanksgiving day. and whi salea
formal observance by uroc'a u
ton of presidents of the r".l
States. usually followed by procl a,'sa
tons of governors of nearly an ~ ~
states, has had its poetry ito W. us
which is not poetry, and prosa;o I ~.
allure which is better than eitho,
etry or the rhyme. 1t was in H. "
gin really a religious observance y. W.
first proclamations being promulg.t ~
by provincial governors of yar 1s''a
ligious New England, Bradford bsr, y
in history the credit of the first n..
lamation. F'~
Observance was in the begin0,.
desultory, that is, not simultane0n.s
and it was not general and syntba..
really, until 1864, when the FIRST Nv.
idential proclamation was issned ~, ~
Lincoln for a day of thanksgivino !.
cause of the apparent approacbis,
end of the Civil war. NATURALLY ~,
day was not observed by the secados
states, but now it has come tn bo y.
ognized in nearly all of the stoto.
though in many of them it is mn
statutory holiday. 1t is not and nav
er was, a national holiday by legisla.
tive enactment.
Just when the turkey few in as ma
of the almost imperative accomnsDi
ments of the Thanksgiving table /,
not worth mentioning, as it is an iOr.
dent so vague. That fowl, with nina
or pumpkin pie as a part of the dos.
sert of the time-honored dinner of ha
day, has for long years come to he
SO well recognized that it has been
urged as the only logical bird for
blazoning on the national escutcbeon
the eagle having become mighty
"skase," and having been much
missed both in this and other cOuu,
tries.
In 1859, the morning of June s, frost
killed all that was killable Throughout
the entire North. In October Of The
previous year, as will be well remen
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 direfuI When the
nucleus was low in the northwest IN
the early evening the ''tail" dominated
all other celestial phenomena, flowing
far past the zenith. The presage Of q
great Civil war to come was in the
air and to those who were in the least
superstitious the comet was a sign Of
calamity near at hand. The freeze
of the following June clinched the
premonition, and in the fall Of the year
of the frost there was quite general
ly observed day of fasting and prayer.
It was this sort of recognition Of the
omnipotence of Deity, solemn and pro-
found and utterly sincere, which in the
earlier days of the nation gave founds'
tion to the origin of the days Of thanks
giving for the good things Of human
existence, and, when they were not as
good as they might have been, tnaI
they were no worse than they were
Then the whole custom OF setting
apart day for giving thanks to the
Almighty grew gradually into that
present beautiful intermingling Of re
ligious services, reunion of families
and friends, feasting and general re
joicing, even if the times were porter
tous of adversely for some OF the pee
pies Of this and other parts Oh uS
world. h
It is peculiarly an American inst
tuition" and our fat and frivolous lOsl
of paradise is it's fetish. 1t is ID a.
its forms and colors, wild or domesuS
essentially an American BIRD uu
Thanksgiving dinner bird, yeSteluss
and today and forever, beloved ny ~
ages and races, and for at least 'p',
one day putting the Roman nOS'
the eagle out Of joint.