Thanksgiving

Do we have to have a day set apart to give thanks or to be thankful for what God has blessed us? As Christian, thanksgiving should be an every day event or daily giving thanks to God. Why do we have a national holiday set aside for Thanksgiving? I did a google search on Thanksgiving and found a piece of information that was fascinating to me.





We all were taught in school the first Thanksgiving Day was the Pilgrim's giving thanks with the Indians. What we failed to recognized, the year before is when the Pilgrim's came to Massachusetts they were not prepared the harsh winter and half the population dies from starvation. The Pilgrim's had gather together to give thanks to God for the bountiful harvest of that summer. The giving of thanks to God was merely a celebration for the bountiful harvest.





President George Washington in 1789 signed a decree to entitled the "General Thanksgiving", the decree appointed the day "to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God."



It was not until October 3, 1863 that Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for the observance of the fourth Tuesday of November as a national holiday. This proclamation came after a bloody battle in Gettysburg. This is where Abraham Lincoln found peace with God after touring the battle ground.



In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the third Thursday of November (to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy). After a storm of protest, Roosevelt changed the holiday again in 1941 to the fourth Thursday in November, where it stands today.



So, my question is: "Do we truly set apart this fourth Thursday of November to be thankful and reflect on what God has done for us this past year? Or do we treat this day as a day of rest to gear up for the biggest shopping day of the year?



I give thanks to God every day for the blessings and the opportunities He presents to me. Thanksgiving Day to me, is a day where you gather with your family and have big feast and share in together what God has done over the past year.



I go back to Abraham Lincoln in his proclamation for thanksgiving. A national day of observance for the battle at Gettysburg. Take time today and reflect on our men and women serving in our military. Especially those serving in the battle fronts in the middle east.



This is my perspective view of Thanksgiving.



David Cromie