The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1922-11-26
THE ORIGIN OF THANKSGIVING
DAY.

and prepared to write.
He was about to chronicle an Incl
dent in the history of party recent
ly landed from the "shippe Ayde,
of the Frobisher Expedition, which
brought the first English settlers to
the them very New World.
"On Monday morning, May Or,
1878" scratched the quill, son board
the Ayde (off the Newfoundland
COAST we received all the conmun-
ion by the minister of Gravesend and
prepared as good Christians toward
God and resolute men for all fortunes
and toward night we departed towar;l
Tilberry Hope.
Here we highly praysed God and
altogether upon our knees gave him
due humble and hearty thanks and
Master Wolfall a learned man az
pointed by her majesty's council to
be our minister made upto us a god
I've sermon, exhorting all especially
to be thankful to God for his strange
and miraculous deliverance in those
dangerous places
This, it apears, was North Ameri-
cas- initial Thanksgiving service.
The first record of any similar oh
servance on the soil of what now i;
the United States was that of the
Porham eolonists at Sagadahoc, Me,
in August, 1907.
But these were mere services.
A whole Thanksgiving Day, begin
ming with worship of course, but in
GLIDING also turkey and appropriate
trimmings, was proclaimed by Gov
ernor Bradford, of Massachusetts, on
Dec. 81, 1921.
This was the Thanksgiving Day
generally spoken of as our first.
In reality it lasted three days. The
governors proclamation designated
onl yone but the colonists enjoyed the
feasting SUI much that they stretched
it out.
The Pilgrims, as Puritans, be it re-
membered, didn't think much G.
Christmas. Yet they wanted some
day they could celebrate. They took
kindly to Thanksgiving as substi-
tute.
True, some years they missed it,
either because they were pretty busy
or didn't feel very thankful, but 9TH
er years they celebrated twice.
Once, just as the Massachusetts
colonists were sitting down to a gor-
geous spread, it was learned that the
goddess aborigine who had purveyed
the venison and turkey for the occa-
sion, acquired them, by sleight of bow
and arrow, on the Lords Day.
For this the redskin was compelled
to return the money paid to him and
receive 80 lashes instead.
"Haviig inflicted a just and right
eous punishment on the sinful IN
dian,' says the chronicle, ''the COM
pany, with the exception of one mem
Der whose conscience was not salts
fed, fell upon the meal and devoured
it,"
By 1854 the festival had become a
regular annual event in Massachu-
sets. Before long it was observed
similarly throughout all New Eng
land.
During tic Revolution, the Cont.
mental Congress recommended eight
Thanksgiving Days and Genera
Washington two.
! In September, 1889, Representative,
Boudinet asked Congress to sugges
to the president a day of thanks foi
the constitution.
/ "In my opinions" said Representa-
tive Burke, objecting, this would b
a silly mimicking of European ways.
''And in mine" said Representative
! Tucker, objecting too, before givinl
thanks for the constitution, it woul,
be well to try it for a while and Sc
how it works.
I Perhaps with turkey and cranberr,
lsauce in mind, Congress made TIL
suggestion nevertheless and Presi
i dent Washington named Nov. 26.
i Various other national executive
followed suit. Thomas jefferson Ger
tainly was one Of them, for it is 0
A record that a certain Connection
i clergyman, in his Thanksgiving ser
j mon, besougllt on behalf of the Mon
ticello sage, as "our president
goodly portion of the divine grace.
i For we'll o Lord, thou knowest,
4 the worthy pastor reminded hi
i Diety, how much he needeth it,
a However, presidential proclanaa
tion was by no means the invariabl
rule in those days. More often tina
/. not the governors of the variou
states were left to issue proclanla
tions Of their own, and this they ger
I, orally did thotIUh mt ALWAYS for n,