The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1928-11-29
fpv Pew F. N. Morton) J


~ because of the romance and
traditions that surround it.
Although Thanksgiving as we
,now it is an American institution,
days of thanksgiving in recogni-
linn of special mercies or favors
have been known since earliest
times, and have been common to
almost all nations.
The Isralites appear to have
seen among the earliest people to
observe special day of thanks
Giving. They observed faithfully,
with great rejoicing and solemn
ceremonies, their Feast of Taber-
nacles, a day of thanks, not only
for the bounties of the land, but
for their escape from Egypt.
THE feast of tabernacles shall
thou hold for thyself seven days,
when thou hast gathered in the
uroduce of thy threshing floor and
Of thy wine Deuteronomy
16:13.)
The ancient Greeks had also a
day of thanksgiving known as the
Feast of Demeter. This nine-day
feast was in honor of Demeter,
goddess of the cornfield and har-
vests, and was meant very obvious
" as day of gratitude for the
richness and bounties of the har-
vest.
In England, as in other coun-
tries, it was customary to hold
special days of fasting and prayer
in times of peril, of famine, and of
pestilence. A special day of
thanksgiving was proclaimed by
Oliver Cromwell at the time of
the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
We are all familiar with the ap.
ualing hardships that the first set
tiers in America were forced to
endure. A handful of homesick
men and women in a strange, bleak
country, Indians everywhere and
food scarce. In the first year,
forty-six of the one hundred and
one white people who settled in
Plymouth died and were buried on
the bluff overlooking the landing.
But in the fall of 1921, the remain
ing men of Plymouth gathered in
a wonderful crop from the twenty
acres of corn and six acres of bar
ley and peas they had planted.
Governor Bradford gave direc-
tions that a day of thanksgiving
be held on December 13, 1921, to
give thanks for the bounties that
had been bestowed upon them.
Friendly Massasoit with ninety of
his Indian braves were invited to
the feast, and they came in all
their holiday paint and feathers.
Of white men and women there
were only fifty-five at this first
thanksgiving.
Although Thanksgiving did not
then become a regular yearly fes-
tival, our Thanksgiving, which we
observe every November is di-
rect legacy of that historic feast
with the Indians.
Thanksgiving is the distinctive
ly home day of the American peo-
pie. There is no day of the year
that seems to have quite the same
drawing power toward home that
thanksgiving Day has. Young
folks look forward to it as a day
Of rejoicing, and the older folks
20 back i'm memory to the times
of other days.
1t is customary at Thanksgiving
time to look for the bright things
in life and not those that darken
our vision. We recount our gains
and not our losses. We remember
our fortunes and forget our mis-
fortunes. We recall our friends
and forget our enemies. We look
back over life and review its
pleasures and pass over our dis
pleasures. AS we think of the
goodness that has attended our
pathway through life, we sing an
anthem and not a dirge.
1t is we'll for US that we have
one day in the year set aside for
the special purpose of recounting
our blessings and considering from
whence they come. But few rich
er legacies can come to the lot of
an individual than a cheerful ard
thankful spirit. The spirit of
thankfulness cul.ivates in US the
art of looking on the bright side Of
life. To be able to look on the
bright side of life is one of the
noblest of arts for it enables us to
see Gods goodness in spite of the
clouds which sometimes seem
to abscure from our view
ell his mercies. BY ingratitude.
We lose even that which We have,
VILE gratitude m magnifies our pos
s:ss,ons. The Ia !ividual with the
thankful spirit like the honey bee,
which extracts honey even from.
the seemingly worthless weeds,
IS able to draw from the most dis
agreeable circumstances some
hng that adds to his store of joy.
None of us realize just how rich
we are until we sit down to count
our blessings. Even though we
may not have much gold or silver
we have possessions fer which no
nount of gJld or sjlve: could
eomptnsate.. HealthJ bodies, keen
minds, precious loved ones and