Tradition and Thanks

Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner!  It’s the fourth Thursday in November and an annual observance that crosses all boundaries.  We should remember that first Thanksgiving in 1619 at Berkeley Plantation on the banks of the James River and one celebrated by in 1621 by the Pilgrims as times to remember those struggling for freedom and to express our gratitude for our many gifts and good fortune.  Let’s look at where our traditions come from.

• Thanks comes originally developed from “thought” to “kind thoughts or feeling good will” to “being grateful.”  In 1619 and 1621 it was a day devoted first the prayers and then food.
• President Lincoln issued a proclamation of October 3, 1863, that Thanksgiving would be celebrated the last Thursday of November.  The tradition began officially, therefore, in 1864.  In 1941, a congressional resolution set the date as the fourth Thursday in November for us.  The date varies in other countries.Thursday.  and finally Thur, Thunor, Thunor’s Day, Thurs-doeg, evolved to Thor comes from Scandinavian mythology and their most worshiped god, Thor.  In Old English, Thursday
• …raise the song of harvest-home, …all is safely gathered in, …gather thou thy people in.is the season when crops ripen and are gathered in and the time of remembrance is often referred to as “harvest home” – giving thanks for the crop yields so that families could enjoy hearty meals.  In the hymn, “Come, ye thankful people, come,” there are the phrases Harvest

 And from these came feast with turkey, stuffing/dressing, gravy, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. 

• The “bird” we now refer to a the turkey could at one time have been almost any bird someone saw!  Spanish conquistadors exploring returned to Europe with cargoes of newly discovered wild birds.  In 1524, Henry VIII served these for his English court.  Turkey doesn’t become an American tradition until the 1860’s, and it’s place was made secure after World War II when the poultry industry launched a full-scale marketing campaign of hybrid birds that would offer lots of meals!
• The ingredients for stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie made these traditional items on our tables because they are easily grown and harvested and therefore, once processed, accessible for our enjoyment.

And so the tradition continues with the addition of parades (begun by Gimbel’s department store in Philadelphia in 1920 – Macy’s started in 1924), football (which replaced baseball in the 1880’s), travel, and over eating!   As the hymn says, “…gather thou thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin; …raise the glorious harvest home.”

Bill Wilds