The first celebration of Thanksgiving took place in November of 1621. It would not become a permanent national holiday until our nation was in the midst of the Civil War in 1863. I find it interesting to consider that Lincoln was farther away in time from that first Thanksgiving than we are from his. In both cases, it seems a little odd that they would have set aside a day (or multiple days in the case of the first celebration) to be thankful when the previous year had been so terrible.
The year leading up to 1621's celebration saw over half of Massachusetts Bay Colony's population die. While they were partially celebrating their first harvest as well as formalizing a defensive treaty with their neighbors, the deaths from the past year must have been weighing heavily on their minds. Yet those early colonists decided to focus on hope rather than dwell upon what they lost. They could not know how successful their enterprise was going to be, yet they held on to hope and focused on their blessings anyway.
While Lincoln did not establish the Thanksgiving holiday in its current form until 1863, he actually made the first national Thanksgiving celebration in 1861. He called for a national celebration in our nation's darkest hour. In 1861, the Union had suffered devastating losses and the country was torn apart with brother fighting brother. Yet instead of dwelling on those losses, Lincoln asked the country to focus on its blessings and to look towards a brighter future. He did so again in 1862, and then made it permanent in 1863 after the Battle of Gettysburg with the path now clear (if still long fought) towards the victory of the United States over those who wanted to divide and destroy us.
These past couple of years have not seemed like we have much to be thankful for. However, it is precisely for times of difficulty that the holiday of Thanksgiving was formed and founded. It is worth it for us to take the time to realize that, no matter how dark or troubling the year has been, there are always hopes and blessings on which we can focus.
I am thankful for Thanksgiving.
The year leading up to 1621's celebration saw over half of Massachusetts Bay Colony's population die. While they were partially celebrating their first harvest as well as formalizing a defensive treaty with their neighbors, the deaths from the past year must have been weighing heavily on their minds. Yet those early colonists decided to focus on hope rather than dwell upon what they lost. They could not know how successful their enterprise was going to be, yet they held on to hope and focused on their blessings anyway.
While Lincoln did not establish the Thanksgiving holiday in its current form until 1863, he actually made the first national Thanksgiving celebration in 1861. He called for a national celebration in our nation's darkest hour. In 1861, the Union had suffered devastating losses and the country was torn apart with brother fighting brother. Yet instead of dwelling on those losses, Lincoln asked the country to focus on its blessings and to look towards a brighter future. He did so again in 1862, and then made it permanent in 1863 after the Battle of Gettysburg with the path now clear (if still long fought) towards the victory of the United States over those who wanted to divide and destroy us.
These past couple of years have not seemed like we have much to be thankful for. However, it is precisely for times of difficulty that the holiday of Thanksgiving was formed and founded. It is worth it for us to take the time to realize that, no matter how dark or troubling the year has been, there are always hopes and blessings on which we can focus.
I am thankful for Thanksgiving.
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