"Following the Mayflower’s arrival at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620,
--the Pilgrims suffered the lost of 46 of their original 102 colonists.
--With the help of 91 Indians, the remaining Pilgrims survived the bitter winter and yielded a bountiful harvest in 1621.
--In celebration, a traditional English harvest festival, lasting three days brought the Pilgrims and natives to unite in a “thanksgiving” observance.
--This “thanksgiving” meal would not be celebrated again until June of 1676.
On June 29 the community of Charlestown, Massachusetts proclaimed a day of thanksgiving for their good fortune.
--Thanksgiving as we celebrate it -- George Washington proclaimed it a National holiday in 1789,
--Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November in 1863,
--and Congress sanctioned it as a legal holiday in 1941.
*In the Bible, the meaning of thanksgiving reflected adoration, sacrifice, praise, or an offering.
Thanksgiving was a grateful language to God as an act of worship.
Rarely, if ever, was thanksgiving extended to any person or thing, except God. “These things I remember as I pour out my soul; how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng” (Psalm 42:4).
---Long before the colonists celebrated their successes, Nehemiah assembled two great choirs to give thanks for God’s faithfulness in rebuilding the wall. “ . . . The Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully and dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres” (Nehemiah 12:27)."
AllAboutHistory
--the Pilgrims suffered the lost of 46 of their original 102 colonists.
--With the help of 91 Indians, the remaining Pilgrims survived the bitter winter and yielded a bountiful harvest in 1621.
--In celebration, a traditional English harvest festival, lasting three days brought the Pilgrims and natives to unite in a “thanksgiving” observance.
--This “thanksgiving” meal would not be celebrated again until June of 1676.
On June 29 the community of Charlestown, Massachusetts proclaimed a day of thanksgiving for their good fortune.
--Thanksgiving as we celebrate it -- George Washington proclaimed it a National holiday in 1789,
--Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November in 1863,
--and Congress sanctioned it as a legal holiday in 1941.
*In the Bible, the meaning of thanksgiving reflected adoration, sacrifice, praise, or an offering.
Thanksgiving was a grateful language to God as an act of worship.
Rarely, if ever, was thanksgiving extended to any person or thing, except God. “These things I remember as I pour out my soul; how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng” (Psalm 42:4). ---Long before the colonists celebrated their successes, Nehemiah assembled two great choirs to give thanks for God’s faithfulness in rebuilding the wall. “ . . . The Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully and dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres” (Nehemiah 12:27)."
AllAboutHistory