The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1922-11-26

| the day and the custom of enjoying
a turkey dinner, in connection with
! it, entered into the life of the Amer
lean people at one and the same
time.
To Governor Bradford, the first
Colonial governor of Massachusetts,
the American people are indebted
for both.
There had been Thanksgiving
days-lots of them-in other coun-
tries-even in America, at other
seasons, but Thanksgiving, "Our
Thanksgiving" with its prayers and
rejoicings, its turkey dinner and
cranberry sauce, its cessation from
labor and its indulgence in out-of-
doors sports, comes all as a direct
legacy, from Governor Bradford
and the pilgrim Fathers"
A Woman Started 1t
After all it was mere woman
who managed to have National
Thanksgiving Day. appointed.
Did you happen to know that?
You know the little old Timely verse
about,
"They talk about womans sphere
As tho it had no limit
There's not place in earth or
Heaven
There's not task to mankind given
!. There's not blessing or woe
II There's not whisper yes or no
There's not a life
There's not birth
That has feathers weight of worth
Without woman in it."
And so with Thanksgiving a
woman's hand created this master
piece Of holidays.
Washington had issued procla-
nation for local celebration in
1879, but certain lady, Mrs. s. j..
| Hale by name, long afterward wrote
| to all the governors of states re-
questing the permanent appoint
ment to be held the last Thursday
in November
This did not succeed; oh no; but
it didn't discourage the lady, how
ever, so she just kept on and on
writing to the various governors and
kept it up until 1859, when they all
consented with the exception of just
two-to her demands.
Still
This did not answer her purpose
and SO she sent a copy of Washing
TONS proclamation to President Lin
coin, in 1868, with the result that he
proclaimed National Thanksgiv-
ing Day. Fsf
After that it was celebrated on
the last Thursday in November
which was Mrs. Hale's original idea.
'Made in America"
Thanksgiving Day is our truly
American holiday; "Made in Amer
ica,o in other words; and its charac-
ter lies in its genuineness, for II it Is
not thankful, Thanksgiving Day is
of no use to anybody.
Our nearest war dance is 1.-The
Turkey Trot" and naturally as
Thanksgiving originated from a re-
lease of starvation the season is
forever associated with feasting.
So strong is this association that
If is in danger of dominating the
atbankfur' impulse, unless all re-
ioicing is an instinct of thanksgiv-
ing. -.
An old inscription that ! once
read ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
reveals the sentiment:
envy heritage is Gods provi-
And there could be no better in
cont;ve for an every Americans
Thanksgiving Day!
"Tbe Lady of Decoration
IA Isn't it in "The Lady Of the Deco
ration that the little Thanksgiving
XII poem goes like this:
81 love they breast and wings
Legs. back and other things,
Thou bird of Cranberry
OF thee l sing"
of course it is-and by the way,
did YOU happen to know that The
G.sdv of the Decoration" has brand
new adorable book just from the
nress. the name of which is
".Isck and l in Lotus Land"
Won remember how ''The Lady OF
tbe DECORATION at last succumbed
Well this is her honeymoon
trip with her beloved Jack to
Janan. told so charmingly in"Jack
and / in Lotus Land"
R,1t as | started out to say; most
of ms can whip up some sort OF a
little Thanksgiving sentiment at
table. even if earlier in the day, we
fail to discover causes for thank
f,,lness even with our most rose
colored and "best-est" magnifying
Then again, there's always one
thing to be grateful about Tor
should bel;
It is this:
r. we haven't been granted a
qreat many things we wanted with
eur whole hearts to be thankful
ohont neither have we been sent
nntoward blessings that we didn't
In other words, if we haven't
oot what we wanted, we can still
5a thankful we didn't get what we
didn't want.
Sort of like the song in the musi-
cal comedy about,
81 ~ Want What WANT, When ]
Want IT. or something to that eff
feet.
dinner to make US glad yet food
isn't the whole of Thanksgiving
feast-except to the very young and
the very old.
There are certain years set be-
tween these two seasons, when food
counts for very little one way or the
other-especially if the things that
might have kindled your Thanksgiv-
mo spirit, have been denied you.
Not Thankful
I think the only person that
Is sorry that the Pilgrims came
7. o,,r oraat turkey. bold and fat.