The History of Thanksgiving

Courtesy of http://clearvisionbiblestudies.com

As most American's prepare for the upcoming Thanksgiving Day, we have much to be thankful and grateful for. We should always be mindful and thankful that we live in a couhe ntry that was founded on religious FREEDOM! Our American history teaches us a group of religious "Separatists" later referred to as "The Pilgrims" became the first Western-European-Americans to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Innocently enough their history has its beginning as a religious "Separatists" group who believed that the only way to practice their religion was to separate from the Church of England.  These "Separatists" lived around Scrooby, a village in Nottinghamshire in the English Midlands. Around 1607/08, the group moved to the more religiously tolerant city of Amsterdam and in 1609 to the city of Leiden. Historically speaking religious tolerance never lasts too long and by 1620 a small group of “Separatists" once again seeking religious freedom, set sail from England to the New World. 

These “Separatists" hoped to establish a colony in the northern part of Virginia territory. They chartered a British cargo ship named the "Mayflower" for the journey; The Mayflower was 95 feet in length and displaced 180 tons. To pay for their passage and supplies, the "Separatists" contracted with a group of English merchants. The merchants recruited other colonists to supplement the small group and to provide needed skills for the new colony. This vessel was not quite 1/3rd of a football field in length, yet 102 passengers squeezed on board. On August 15, 1620 The Mayflower--Captained by Christopher Jones--set sail from Plymouth, England. The voyage across the Atlantic took 67 days and 3000 miles of the stormy Atlantic Ocean at an average speed of 2 knots (keep in mind this time of year is hurricane season in the Atlantic). During the voyage there were many incidents, including a death and a birth, a main beam splitting during a storm, and one of the pilgrims falling overboard. Due to primitive navigation techniques the captain steered them much farther north than they had planned, landing the group at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620, thereby missing their intended destination of Virginia territory. After exploring the area, they settled at Plymouth, a settlement protected by a small harbor, where they struggled to survive. That first winter the Pilgrims lived aboard the Mayflower while building their colony. Their first winter in the 'new World" was devastating.

On April 5, 1621 the Mayflower sailed back to England, but not a single Member of the colony went with her. By the beginning of the fall of 1621, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one; and the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast-- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days. During the next year conditions vastly improved and they celebrated their success in the Fall with a dinner of Thanksgiving.

How many people know that the passengers who arrived on the first four ships took on the title of "First Comers," to distinguish themselves from later colonists. The first four ships were the Mayflower (1620), the Fortune (1621), the Anne and the Little James (1623). Eighteenth-century Plymoutheans frequently referred to the early colonists as "Forefathers."

There is no single definition of "Pilgrim." Many families, "Separatists" and non-Separatists and Separatist sympathizers, traveled to America in several ships in the early 17th century, and distinctions are difficult to maintain. The term "Pilgrims," referring to religious travelers, was not generally used to describe the early Plymouth colonists until the early 1800s, when Governor Bradford’s phrase, "they knew they were Pilgrims" began to be quoted. 

October of 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789. Yet it was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize today as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned as the fourth Thursday in November by Congress as a legal holiday.

Christians are like a modern day Abraham—a Christian “Pilgrim.” The Hebrew writer spoke of Abraham’s pilgrimage: Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Abraham and his descendent dwelled in tents and looked for that Holy City made by God! Throughout their journey they acknowledged God’s providence and protection and gave thanks unto God.

Thousands of years have passed since Abraham walked and we dwell in a free nation blessed by God. For hundreds of years Thanksgiving was a religious observance to thank God for his eternal blessings. Today in America, Thanksgiving has taken on more of a secular meaning than a religious one. There are parades, floats, and festivals to celebrate Thanksgiving but little mention of giving thanks to God. Why? This may be an overly simplistic answer to some but many believe it has its roots in the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution which reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." For hundreds of years people in America have been "Free" to worship God in churches, schools, in public, and at government events. 

On June 17, 1963, America was changed forever. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Pennsylvania v. Shempp et al. and Murray v. Curlett, by an 8-1 majority, that the required religious practices of Bible reading and recitation of the Lord's Prayer in public schools and the laws requiring them are unconstitutional. Since this 1963 ruling there has been a steady erosion of religious freedom: from religious displays on public property to teaching of any religion in public schools. What was an American right of "freedom of religion" has become a "freedom from religion"; freedom from the teaching of God, the Bible, prayer in public schools, the removal of the 10 commandments from display at government buildings, and now the Pledge of Allegiance is under attack as there are some who see the Pledge as repressive--because the pledge refers to "One Nation Under God"--wish to also remove the Pledge from the classroom.

These people who lead the charge to remove religion from the public consciousness often say in defense of their position "whose God will we teach or worship" or "our founding fathers were not overly religious men" or "our constitution was not framed with any religion in mind' and so on. All of these reasons can be historically debunked and shown to have no merit. In fact those using our founding father's documents to refute the fact that America was founded on Religious freedoms usually pick and choose very carefully certain pages or sentences while ignoring the overall context in which the document was authored. Isn't it ironic that in a country where the courts have methodically stripped away our religious freedoms that in both chambers of Congress "In God We Trust" is displayed over the doors: and the Supreme Court and Congress convenes each session with prayer? It doesn't take much of an imagination to realize that war has been declared on God.

This is not the first time in history that people have attempted to erase the name of God from the public consciousness. For example Haman tried it in the Book of Esther: Darius tried it in the Book of Daniel: and the Sanhedrin threatened the Apostles with death if they didn't stop preaching Jesus.

Our founding fathers were deeply religious men and understood world history and why governments of the past failed. They were highly educated, very familiar with Western European history and Church--State relationships. The fact was The Church of England was controlled by the English King and many European States were either controlled or heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic Pope. The establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution was to prevent the development and rise of a "National Church" recognized, sanctioned, or controlled by the government. In other words the state was to have no power over the Church and the Church was to have no power over the state. Our founding fathers understood perfectly that for any government to endure it must subject itself to God otherwise tyranny will reign--look at Medieval Europe. I am sure our forefathers knew Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.  They also knew Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. There was a day when America was called "The Arsenal of Democracy."  We stood with the oppressed people of the world and our young men paid with their lives so the oppressed could be free. Now Christians in America are becoming the oppressed. Who will stand with us and be counted? Recent polls indicate that almost 80% of Americans believe in the existence of a Judeo/Christian God.

The first Pilgrims believed and wanted to live a righteous and Godly life and suffered persecution for their beliefs just as Paul wrote...Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). They left their ancestral homes risking their lives to find freedom in the "New World." Unfortunately for 21st Century Christians--us--there is no "New World" to flee to--unless you consider the ocean, Mars, or the Moon as the next frontier. The church is under attack from within and without. There is no place to flee but to God. Our greatest weapon is "Truth". Jesus said the "Gates of hell shall not prevail against [the Church] (Matthew 16:18). The Church has faced persecution and many dark periods in her life and came out victorious and this time will be no different. Let us be like the Pilgrims and believe that God is faithful: Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised (Hebrews 10:23). As Christians we perceive that there is much wrong in America: but there is still much right! The greatest gift we have in America is freedom to disagree and be heard. David wrote why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? (Psalms 2:1). We are children of light. We know who is right and who is wrong. We know where our help comes from (Psalms 46:1; 121:1).