From the Right

/

Politics

The Evolution of Thanksgiving

Cal Thomas, Tribune Content Agency on

The annual American holiday called Thanksgiving formally began with a 1863 proclamation from Abraham Lincoln declaring the last Thursday in November a day of “thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens,” as well as “humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience.”

The thought behind Thanksgiving is outward toward God and his blessings and not inward, which suggests gratitude to no one in particular for whatever positives might have occurred in one’s life. In the more secular view these positives are not blessings, but are to be chalked up to luck, or “good fortune.” May “The Force” be with you.

Most presidents after Lincoln generally followed the pattern of giving thanks to the Deity, even and especially during wars and economic downturns.

In 1939, in the midst of The Great Depression and a looming World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was still able to proclaim: “Let us, on the day set aside for this purpose, give thanks to the Ruler of the Universe for the strength which He has vouchsafed us to carry on our daily labors and for the hope that lives within us of the coming of a day when peace and the productive activities of peace shall reign on every continent.”

That optimistic sentiment was reinforced in the Vera Lynn song “The White Cliffs of Dover,” which contained this lyric:

“There'll be love and laughter

And peace ever after

Tomorrow

When the world is free”

If only.

 

Roosevelt also declared Thanksgiving to be on the fourth Thursday of the month in years when the calendar contained five Thursdays to allow more time for Christmas shopping which he thought would help boost the economy.

Even in this month when Thanksgiving comes naturally late on the calendar, advertisers have been declaring “Black Friday” sales beginning in October.

As noted by The American Presidency Project, beginning in the early 1940s, “the language of Thanksgiving Day Proclamations changed to emphasize American values and ideas, and to assert the event's direct link to the ‘first Thanksgiving’ of Plymouth Colony.”

Many myths have grown around Thanksgiving, The Mayflower, and other historical events. The Museum Gallery Archive reports: “Four hundred years ago, Thanksgiving was a religious event, and marked by fasting not feasting. Recent research suggests that the first Thanksgiving of this kind was celebrated by new English settlers at Berkeley, Virginia, in 1619. They were Puritans giving thanks for their safe arrival on the banks of the James River.”

Today, Thanksgiving is nearly a blur in the rush toward Christmas and the conspicuous consumption merchants promote to pad their bottom lines. It’s too bad because pausing to reflect amid the toxic political environment we have experienced this year – and are likely to continue to experience in at least the near future – is a way to cleanse us from the poison that has infected so many. It is also a way to turn our attention from things on Earth that must pass away to the One who is eternal and in control of all things.

After one of the most divisive presidential campaigns in modern history, dividing friends, family members and even members of some churches, this Thanksgiving offers an opportunity to put bitterness aside, attempt to heal wounds, and focus on what unites us more than our political divisions. Let that process begin with humility, forgiveness and confession to the One who ought to be the object of our gratitude.

========

Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I've Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America" (HumanixBooks).

©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

By Ben Shapiro
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Christine Flowers

Christine Flowers

By Christine Flowers
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Debra Saunders

Debra Saunders

By Debra Saunders
Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager

By Dennis Prager
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Michael Reagan

Michael Reagan

By Michael Reagan
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

By Oliver North and David L. Goetsch
R. Emmett Tyrrell

R. Emmett Tyrrell

By R. Emmett Tyrrell
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Ruben Navarrett Jr

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

Monte Wolverton Christopher Weyant Dave Granlund Bob Englehart Daryl Cagle Adam Zyglis