Inspiration & Worship

The Origins of Thanksgiving

“… Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Ephesians 5:19b

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Being thankful is a healthy habit, whether or not you’re religious, and whether or not you have big problems.

The concept of “thanksgiving for the harvest” dates back to ancient times, in both Judeo-Christian and pagan cultures. The U.S. holiday, however, is distinctly Christian. Setting aside days for fasting and thanksgiving was common among 1600s New England Puritans.

In 1621, Gov. William Bradford, of Plymouth, Mass., organized a three-day celebration after the colony’s first successful corn harvest, inviting American Indian allies to join in the merrymaking. The colonists celebrated survival itself.

Much later, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving per year. In 1789, President George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving Proclamation, asking Americans to thank God for their new country and to ask His blessings upon it. John Adams and James Madison followed suit, but there was no official date.

Perhaps the greatest champion of a national U.S. Thanksgiving holiday was author Sarah Josepha Hale (composer of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”) For nearly four decades, she urged politicians to set aside an official day each year for Americans to give thanks for their country.

Hale’s cause was finally answered by Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, during the Civil War. Lincoln chose the final Thursday in November and it remained so until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it up a week to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. Critics referred to his action as “Franksgiving,” and in 1941 he reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.

Today, for many Americans, the holiday is all about food and football, but it began with prayers for our nation and gratitude for survival itself. ❚

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