Thanksgiving Day is our most popular national holiday. At an early age, children in school learn the origin of the holiday which is traced to the Pilgrims who settled the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. They had left their native land in search of a place where they would have freedom to practice their religion. That first Thanksgiving meal is a testimony to their having achieved that freedom. They publicly expressed their thanks to God for the blessing of the bounty they had received from Him. Their gratitude to God was also expressed by sharing that bounty with the Native Americans whom the tradition places at the table for the first Thanksgiving meal.
The Pilgrims were people of strong Christian faith who knew what was owed to God — gratitude. It is reported that the Native Americans also had traditions that gave thanks for the Creator’s gifts of a successful harvest. Though the date of the feast changes each year, its purpose does not. It is to give Thanks to God.
Is the religious dimension of the national holiday recognized and observed in our time? Or, have references to giving thanks to God been erased from its observance? To give thanks to God is what motivated the Pilgrims to organize the day, and thanking God was found in the customs of the native peoples. Further, to give thanks to God on the last Thursday of November is found in the original declaration of the national holiday by President Lincoln in which God is referred to a number of times.
Should we be concerned that references of giving thanks to God are disappearing from public discourse? I think we should, and that concern should make us more determined in our celebration of the national holiday to get the focus correct — on giving thanks to God.
Having experienced great sufferings during their journey across the ocean and despite the severe hardships of establishing themselves in a new land, the Pilgrims knew that God deserved thanks. They knew what was owed to God — gratitude. May we come before God with an attitude of gratitude. Despite our disappointments and sufferings, may we recognize the blessings we have received from Him and be able to say “Thank You.” This is all we can give to God who gives us so much.
A Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving Day to all of you!
~ Fr. Robert T. Cooper, Pastor