Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1922-11-23
Festival NOW
ALL AMERICAN
Though Its Origin Was Pagan,
Thanksgiving Is Peculiarly
OF This Country.
Pilgrim Fathers Gave Religious Char
acter to Celebration Which for
Centuries Had Been Occasion Only
for Material Jollficatlon.


People who do not chloroform their
sense of fun before starting TO read
history lave had many chuckle over
the Pilgrim and Puritan festival of
Thanksgiving. These early settlers of
New England were so militantly Chris
tan that they could not bear any sug-
gestion OF an earlier creed. They
objected to Christmas as "heathenish."
because 1t cortaincd-aS it still con.
tainS-so many relies of pre-Christinn
days. Having done this, they turned
round, seized on tie most thoroughly
pagan of all celebrations. that of the
gathered harvest, and made il an insti-
tuition that has grown and spread for
three centuries. Is the Indictment
drawn by a writer in an eastern maga-
zine.
But the Joke is not all on the Pill
grims. True. they went back to fes-
tival which has been held ever since
man began to plant and gather crops;
but they made Of it something peculiar.
- A'iNbNl AZ NaIilNllti uilis 1T llt iNol,
American.
They gave religious character to
celebrate which for ages had been
purely material iollificaticn, and
made it part Of the communlty's pub
lie policy; rn occasion for coming to-
gether in common aspirations, hopes
and gratitude. All the changes and
developments of the last 300 years
have not been able to change the es-
sential character of the Pilgrim
Thanksgiving. How many inventions
Of today will last so long?
The first THANKSGIVING feast, held
In the fall of 1Gal. was not ordained
By formal proclamation. The colony
was too small to need such d notice.
But the circumstances under which
the celebration was held are told In
Governor Bradford's history in way
well worthy OF quotation:
''They (the colonists) begane now to
gatiier in the small harvest they had,
and to fitte ur thcir houses and dwell
hes against winter, being all well re-
covered in health & strength, & had
all things in good plenty: for as some
we're thus impoyed in aifaires abroad,
stilers were exercised in fishing, ahoute
codd, & bass, & other Ash, of which
they tooke goo store. Of which every
family had their portion. &. And
Hpw begane to come I'm store Of foule,
as winter approached, Of which this
place did abound when they came
FIRST, but afterwards decreased by de-
grees. And besides water foule, ther
wrs great store Of wild Turkes of
which they took Iauny. besides vension,
&c BesiGs they Ind aboute peck
meale wee';e to person, or
now, since harvest. Indeah corne to
that proportion. Which made many
afterwards write ST. largely OF their
plenty hear to tleir friends in Eng
innd, which were not famed, but true
reports"
Excepting small boys, one can hard
ly imagine the folk of modern COM
munity boasting about their plenty
under the stimulus Of n peck n meale
a veeke to person. plus such game
as could be trapped, or shot with flint.
lock firearms. But such things depend
mainly on the point of view, and that
may not have improved SO much in
the last three centuries as we think.
We Of today know more of q thousand
things than did Governor bradford and
his companions, but 1t is not so certain
uar we know more of the basic busl-
ness of living.
Excellent hearts had our fathers Of
Old" and for steady, cheerful cour-
nge, the Pilgrim colbnlsts never have
been surpassed.
Twelve years later, the colony had
grown so much that formal procla-
nation seemed necessary. The first
one was issued on October /, 1893,
and the Thanksgiving celebration was
held two weeks later, October 10.
The custom soon spread throughout
New England. Then, on October 3,
1850, the new President Of the new
nation, George Washington. called on
the American people to assemble on
Nov. 20 and give thanks, among other
things,
Tor the signal and manifold Mer-
eies, and the favorable Interposltlon
Of His Providence in the course and
conclusion of tie late War
for the peaceful and rational manner
In which we have been enabled 10 es-
tablish Constitutions and Governments
fna