In 1621, following a year in which nearly half their original number died of starvation and disease, the Pilgrims of Plymouth celebrated three days of Thanksgiving to God for bringing them to the New World. Governor William Bradford later wrote in his memoirs about the travails and triumphs of the colony:
“Thus out of small beginnings greater things have been produced by His hand that made all things of nothing, and gives being to all things that are; and, as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many…”
In 1789, after nearly twenty years of turmoil, war, and political uncertainty, President George Washington announced a day of thanksgiving and celebration for the new nation:
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.
In 1863, during the darkest days of the Civil War, when the very existence of our nation was at stake and thousands of Americans on both sides were dying in bloody combat, President Abraham Lincoln called for another day of thanksgiving to God:
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
Let us then walk in the footsteps of our forefathers and give thanks to God for the blessings He has given us in this blessed and fruitful homeland. May your day be filled with gratitude and joy.