1837
This month [November] is
the ninth in order in the old Roman Calendar, as established by
Romulus, March being the opening month in the year.
It still retains its ancient name, which it received at the
hands of the founder of the “Eternal City” - a name surviving the
wreck of Rome’s imperial majesty.
In “Britain’s Isle” this is accounted the month of gloom and
discomfort, when melancholy is fashionable, and gentleman-like, as
though sympathy with the cheerless and sunless face of Nature ought,
of course, to make the heart of man sad, and his face stern and
sullen.
But this chill from the “Spirit of the frozen ocean” has never
pervaded our young country. That
merry anniversary, our Thanksgiving, has changed, to us, the gloomy
aspect of the season, and made November (in which month the
Thanksgiving should always be held) one of the brightest and best
months in the year
December has her own peculiar festival, which, to us, as Christians,
cannot but make a powerful appeal by its holy associations. Christmas is a day set apart by Christendom to commemorate
the nativity of our blessed Lord.
What heart is there that does not beat with high emotion on the
morning of this glorious day, as on the wings of imagination we are
transported to Judea, and observe that group of simple-hearted
shepherds, who were abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their
flocks, on the memorable night previous to our Saviour’s birth!
We hear the encouraging language which the angel of the Lord
addressed them, as in view of the dazzling brightness which shone
around them – they were sore afraid.
“Fear not! for, behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people!
For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour;
which is Christ, the Lord.”
We listen to the music of the heavenly hosts, as in tones of the
sweetest melody they celebrate the praises of God.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good
will towards men!”
From this circumstance it is that we regret that the festival of
Thanksgiving has ever been divorced from November, to whom it
rightfully belongs, and wedded to December, who is already honored
above her peers, by the most sacred of all festivals – that
commemorative of the nativity of Jesus Christ.
The noble annual feast day of our Thanksgiving resembles, in some
respects, the Feast of Pentecost, which was, in fact, the yearly
season of Thanksgiving with the Jews.
It might, without inconvenience, be observed on the same day of
November, say the last Thursday in the month, throughout all New
England; and also in our sister states, who have engrafted it upon their
social system. It would
then have a national character, which would, eventually, induce all
the states to join in the commemoration of “In-gathering,” which
it celebrates. It is a festival which will never become obsolete, for it
cherishes the best affections of the heart – the social and domestic
ties. It calls together
the dispersed members of the family circle, and brings plenty, joy and
gladness to the dwellings of the poor and lowly.
None are left to pine in that most abject state of physical
want, hunger, on the Thanksgiving; even the poor prisoner is cheered
in his solitary cell, not so much by the thought that a good dinner
awaits him on that day, as that he finds h
The moral effect of this simple festival is essentially good.
It is a season of grateful joy in view of the rich blessings of
Providence, which has thus crowned the year with its goodness.
It is a part of the noble patrimony of our Puritan Fathers.
Blessed be their memories!
May their stern, uncompromising integrity -- their deep piety
which pervaded all their thoughts, feelings and actions, running
through all their institutions – their simplicity of character –
their devoted love of country – their fearless support of religious
liberty – may these virtues ever be the inheritance, the guard, the
guide, and guerdon of their descendants. The Puritans stamped themselves for good upon the
institutions which they established, and the habits and customs which
they formed and transmitted to their descendants.
And this spirit has gone out over our whole country, more or
less, and has fashioned and modified the American character.
1842
CONVERSATIONS AT THE EDITORS’ TABLE BY MRS. HALE.
“How I do love the light of the fire, when our autumn evenings
begin to grow long!” exclaimed Ellen Marvin as she drew her chair
close to the book-covered table, over which the schoolmaster was
leaning. “It always
seems to me,” she continued, “as though all the sweet visions of
domestic bliss which the poets have painted were brightened and
beautified in such a light. I often wish, at this season of the year, that I too could
write poetry.”
“Yes,” said the schoolmaster, smiling at her enthusiasm, “yes,
the bright hearth often awakens the poetic, as it certainly doe the
social spirit in our nature. One
reason doubtless is, that our cares and labours are sooner over, in
these short days, and therefore we do not bring wearied minds into the
domestic circle. And then the warm bright hearth is more welcome and
joy-inspiring at this season than even in the depths of winter,
because it is a new enjoyment, as it were, and of course seems a
luxury. All these circumstances augment our happiness.”
“I never could understand why the English people were disposed to
melancholy at this season,” observed Mrs. Marvin.
“To me, November is one of the most cheerful months in the
year.”
“Because you were born and brought up in New England rather than in
Old England,” returned the schoolmaster.
“And besides, we have our Thanksgiving day in this month,
usually,” said Ellen.
“Yes, and better still, we have, as a whole people, cause for
fervent and grateful thanksgiving,” said the schoolmaster.
“At this season every family, almost, in our land has the
comforts of life, and nearly all have the hope and prospect of living
thus comfortably through the coming seasons.
In Old England it is not so.
Thousands, aye, million of her people are suffering daily from
the ‘want of all things!’
To such persons the approach of winter must seem almost like
the sentence of death. When
suffering from cold is added to all other woes the poor have there to
endure, even the soothing influences of religion can scarcely calm the
spirit to patience and submission.”
“It is dreadful to think of these wretched sufferers,” said Mrs.
Marvin; “and then to reflect that this wide-spread and consuming
poverty is borne in the richest country in the whole world!”
“I do not see how the English nobility can enjoy their enormous
wealth, while so many of their countrymen are literally pining with
hunger,” said Ellen. “I
should fear the judgments of heaven on such selfishness.”
1847
THANKSGIVING DAY. --
The Governor of New Hampshire has appointed Thursday, November
25th, as the day of annual thanksgiving in that state.
We hope every governor in the twenty-nine
states will appoint the same day -- 25th of November -- as the
day of thanksgiving! Then
the whole land would rejoice at once.
1848
THANKSGIVING DAY. -- The observance of this hallowed day is
another strong link in the chain that binds the states in brotherhood.
We are more than glad, we are grateful that the suggestion,
emanating from our “Lady’s Book,” has been so kindly received.
We suggested, early last year, that the Day of Thanksgiving
should be observed on the last Thursday in November, throughout the
nation. Of course, the
appointment of the day rests with the governors of each state; and
hitherto, though the day of the week was always Thursday, that of the
months had been varied. But
the last Thursday of last November was kept as Thanksgiving Day in
twenty-four of the twenty-nine states -- all that kept such a feast at
all. May the last
Thursday of the next November witness this glad and glorious festival,
this “feast of the ingathering of harvest,” extended over our
whole land, from the St. Johns to the Rio Grande, from the Plymouth
Rock to the Sunset Sea.
1848
OUR THANKSGIVING FESTIVAL. -- November should be, in America,
marked with “a white stone,” and called the Festival Month!
Before this number of our Book goes out, the day of rejoicing will
have been appointed. We
earnestly hope that in every state and territory of our Union it will
be on the same day -- the last Thursday in November.
Then, indeed, the festival will be national, and joy and
thankfulness pervade the whole land.
What a glory on our institutions, on our people, will such an
observance confer! Miss
Bremer, in her last work, thus alludes to this custom: --
“In America there is annually celebrated what is called the
Thanksgiving Festival. It
occurs in the autumn when the harvest is finished.
The families then assemble to rejoice together, and to
distribute the earth’s best wealth amid praises of the giver.
“‘Oh, what beautiful Thanksgivings,’ writes a lady from that
distant land, ‘have I not spent in my father’s house.
How like was he to a patriarch as he stood there surrounded by
his children! And with
what smiling, joyful countenances stood we round the table of which he
was the host, and entertained us with the best that the house
possessed. When the meal
was ended, we had songs and merry stories told.
They were happy times.’
“Beautiful is this popular custom, and worthy to be adopted by all
people. Beautiful, that
after harvest time, when the earth has stripped herself of all her
riches, that therewith her children might be fed, clothes and
gladdened, such a feast should be celebrated as if for the completion
of the year.”
1849
THANKSGIVING DAY, 1849. -- We
must again remind our friends of this National Festival. Sincerely do we hope and trust the cholera will leave our
land before the time for this day of rejoicing, in the abundance of
the gifts which the earth has produced for our people, arrives.
If the LAST THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER, falling this year on the
twenty-ninth of the month, might be set apart by each and every
Governor of State and Territory, what a glorious spectacle would be
exhibited to the Old World! Our
great nations, by its States and families, from the St. John’s to
the Rio Grande, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, all gathered to a
Feast, in which there would be abundance for all, and where all might
rejoice in peace and safety!
Will not the editors of the weekly and daily papers lend their aid to
establish unity of time as well as design in this great Festival, thus
making it a National Jubilee?
1851 (October)
This month of October, with its showers of falling leaves, brings
assurance that the “Fall” season is really reigning over our land,
and will close with that great festival, our glorious Thanksgiving
Day. A friend has sent us the following, cut from one of the
popular newspapers: --
“Governor Wood, of Ohio, is endeavoring to effect the adoption, by
all the States, of a uniform Thanksgiving Day.
The day selected is the last Thursday in November.
A uniform day for thanksgiving has never yet been adopted in
this country. Some
States appoint the time just after their harvests are gathered;
others, after the public canals are closed, according as each finds it
most convenient to its citizens.
It matters little, religiously, whether all agree upon one day
or not, so that each has one day for that purpose.”
We differ from the conclusions of this writer; it does matter much, religiously as well as nationally.
There would be more significance of universal concord in our
rejoicings as a people, were the day the same in all the States and
Territories of our great nation. The sympathy of feeling would develop greater fervor of
spirit in the thanksgivings which would rise from the altars and the
hearths of twenty-three millions of the human race, who would unite in
grateful remembrance of the blessings which had crowned the year, and
spread a full feast for all. And,
though the members of the same family might be too far separated to
meet around one festive board, they would have the gratification of
knowing that all were enjoying the feast.
From the St. Johns to the Rio Grande, from the Atlantic to the
Pacific border, the telegraph of human happiness would move every
heart to gladness simultaneously, and to render thanks to God for the
blessings showered on our beloved country.
This is no new theme to our readers; most of them will recollect that
we have been, for the last three or four years, urging this subject on
public attention. We
thank Governor Wood for his timely aid and encouragement in this
matter. The last Thursday in the month of November might easily be
fixed as the time of the feast, and each State make its own
appointment in harmony with this general plan.
There would then be two great American national festivals,
Independence Day, on the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving Day, on the
last Thursday in November. This
year it falls on the twenty-seventh.
Will not every State Governor in our republic lend a favorable ear to
our petition, and name the last Thursday in November as the
THANKSGIVING DAY of 1851?
1851 (November)
THANKSGIVING DAY. -- In our last number we suggested some reasons
for making the time, when this festival is observed, the same in all
the states of the Union; in other words, making it a national
festival. The Fourth of
July has a marked effect on our national character.
In foreign countries, the American citizen feels the influence
of the day; it gives him an increase of honor among the millions who
are vainly wishing for such freedom as is his birthright; and he is
proud of the name -- American!
The day of our thanksgiving should be holier still, because it
acknowledges the Source of our prosperity and blesses the Giver of all
our good gifts. Let the
last Thursday in November be set apart as the “Thanksgiving Day of
the American People;” and, wherever an American is found, the day
will be kept. The people
of the Old World would thus be taught that our freedom from man’s
tyranny brings us nearer to God; that, while rejecting earthly lords,
we willingly acknowledge our dependence on the Lord of heaven and
earth. We hope this month
will be the commencement of this universal observance; the first year
of the half century is a good starting-point.
Now we have twenty-three millions of people to enjoy the
festival; at the close of the century there will probably, be an
hundred million.
The governors of our thirty-and-one States may now have the honor of
beginning the concert of that rejoicing which will then proclaim that
the Union is sacred.
1852 (OCTOBER)
“Festivals, when duly observed, attach men to the civil and
religious institutions of their country; it is an evil, therefore,
when they fall into disuse. Who
is there who does not recollect their effect upon himself in early
life?” – SOUTHEY
THE American people have two peculiar festivals, each connected with
their history, and therefore of great importance in giving power and
distinctness to their nationality.
THE FOURTH OF JULY is the exponent of independence and civil freedom.
THANKSGIVING DAY is the national pledge of Christian faith in
God, acknowledging him as the dispenser of blessings.
These two festivals should be joyfully and universally observed
throughout our whole country, and thus incorporated in our habits of
thought as inseparable from American life.
Our Independence Day is thus celebrated.
Wherever an American is found, the Fourth of July is a
festival; and those nations who sit in chains and darkness feel that
there is hope even for them, when the American flag is raised in the
triumph of freedom. Would
not the light of liberty be dimmed were this observance to cease?
Thanksgiving Day is a festival of ancient date in New England, being
established there soon after the settlement of Boston.
The observance has been gradually extending; and, for a few
years past, efforts have been made to have a fixed day, which shall be
universally observed throughout our whole country.
The “Lady’s Book” was the pioneer in this endeavor to
give unity to the idea of Thanksgiving Day, and thus make it a
national observance.
The last Thursday in November was selected as the day, on the whole,
most appropriate. Last
year, twenty-nine States, and all the Territories, united in the
festival. This year, we
trust that Virginia and Vermont will come into this arrangement, and
that the Governors of each and all the States and Territories will
appoint Thursday, the 25th of
November, as the Day of Thanksgiving.
The year 1852 would thus be an era from which to date the
establishment of this national festival; and henceforth, wherever an
American is found, the last Thursday in November would be the
Thanksgiving Day. Families may be separated so widely that personal reunion
would be impossible; still this festival, like the Fourth of July,
will bring every American heart into harmony with his home and his
country. The influence of
such an American festival on foreigners would also be salutary, by
showing them that our people acknowledge the Lord as our God.
In our own wide land, from the St. John’s to the Rio Grande,
and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, every heart would, on one
day in each year, beat in unison of enjoyment and thankfulness.
Therefore, we hope to witness this year the first of these national
festivals.
1852 (NOVEMBER)
THANKSGIVING DAY FOR 1852. -- Thursday,
November the 25th, will, we trust, be appointed as the day, by each and every Governor who holds sway in this wide
sisterhood of States and Territories.
What a grand spectacle to the world it will be!
Nearly twenty-five millions of people sitting down, as it were,
together to a feast of joy and thankfulness, and none
pining in hunger throughout our Republic!
1853
THANKSGIVING DAY. -- The last Thursday in November -- shall it be
THE DAY? If the State
Governors will this year unite on this
day, there is little doubt but a precedent will be established,
and become a fixed custom forevermore.
Then our nation will have a holiday worthy of republican
Christians. The last
Thursday in November will be an American jubilee of thankfulness to
the Lord of Heaven, from whom all blessings flow; and as other nations
attain to the political and religious privileges we enjoy, their
people would adopt the same day for a public thanksgiving, till the
tide of rejoicing rolls around the globe.
1854
THANKSGIVING-DAY FOR 1854. --
For several years past we have discussed the subject of a general
agreement on the time of this annual autumnal festival.
We believe the people would be gratified to have this union of
sentiment carried into effect. The
last Thursday in November has been selected as the day best suited
to the general convenience, when people from Maine to Mexico, from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, might sit down together, as it were, and
enjoy in national union their feast of gladness, rendering thanks to
Almighty God for the blessings of the year.
Therefore we pray, on behalf of all friends of the “Lady’s
Book,” that the Governors of the several States and Territories
would issue their proclamations, each one for his own State,
unanimously appointing Thursday, the 30th of November, as the DAY OF THANKSGIVING!
Will not the Press throughout the Union join the “Lady’s
Book” in this petition?
1854
The American Thanksgiving.
--
“After breakfast, we went to church, for this day (Thanksgiving)
is as sacred throughout the country.
“Why have not we, why have not all people such a festival in the
year? It has grown here
out of the necessities of the nobler popular heart; it is the
ascribing of our highest earthly blessings to their heavenly Giver.
We, in Sweden, have many publicly appointed days for prayer,
but none for Thanksgiving; it is not right and noble.”
Such was Miss Bremer’s appreciation of our Thanksgiving Festival,
and thus it will be approved and followed in all Christendom, when the
popular heart and voice shall bear sway.
A national Thanksgiving Day!
If this could once be established in our own land, Americans
would soon introduce its observance and cheerful festivities into
every part of the world where they are found, and thus, our American
Thanksgiving would be the example for all
people.
The last Thursday in November
has these advantages -- harvests of all kinds are gathered in --
summer travellers have returned to their homes -- the diseases that,
during summer and early autumn, often afflict some portions of our
country, have ceased, and all are prepared to enjoy a day
of Thanksgiving. The
unanimity was nearly perfect last November; still it would be better
to have the day so fixed by the expression of public sentiment that no
discord would be possible, but, from Maine to Mexico, from Plymouth
Rock to Sunset Sea, the hymn of thanksgiving should be simultaneously
raised, as the pledge of brotherhood in the enjoyment of God’s
blessings during the year. How
this national festival can be made sure, we must leave to those who
have the guidance of public affairs; but we do earnestly desire to see
the last Thursday in November
become the fixed time for this American jubilee.
1855
THANKSGIVING DAY. --
When shall it be? The
last Thursday in November falls on the 29th.
We petition each and all the State governors to appoint that
day for our national rejoicing. Then
all the land will be glad together, and union among the people would
be a sure pledge of heart-thankfulness to God, who has given to us, as
a nation, such wonderful prosperity, such universal blessings.
The readers and friends of the “Lady’s Book,” that is, a large
majority of the people of these United States, agree in our petition. Let us have a national day of Thanksgiving on Thursday, the
29th of November.
1856
THANKSGIVING DAY, November 20th,
being the third Thursday in the month.
Then the war of politics will be over for the year; and all
elections, State and National, will be closed; the harvests of the
country gathered in; the preparations for winter made; and the
crowning glory of all the blessings God has, during the year, bestowed
on our great nation would be the union of all our States and
Territories in a day of
National Thanksgiving. The
peoples of the Old World would thus be taught that freedom from
man’s tyranny brings us nearer to God; that, while rejecting earthly
lords, we willingly acknowledge our dependence on the Lord of heaven
and earth. The celebration of the Fourth of July has a marked effect on
our national character. The
American citizen dwelling in foreign countries feels the influence of
observing that day. It
gives him an increase of honor among the millions who are pining in
vain for such high privileges as his national birthright bestows; and
he is proud of the title, “American citizen.”
The Day of Thanksgiving would, if observed nationally, soon be
celebrated in every part of the world where an American family was
settled. If the third
Thursday in November could be established as the Day, and known to
be the time in each year when, from Maine to New Mexico, and from
Plymouth Rock to the Pacific sands, the great American People united
in this festival of gladness and gratitude, the whole world might be
moved to join in the rejoicing, and bless God for his goodness to the
children of men.
1857
THANKSGIVING DAY --
We hope the Governors will unite on November 26th, the last Thursday
in the month. Then the
war of politics will be over for the year; and all elections, State
and National, will be closed; the harvests of the country gathered in;
the preparations for winter made; and the crowning glory of all the
blessings God has, during the year, bestowed on our great nation would
be the union of all our States and Territories in a day
of National Thanksgiving. The
peoples of the Old World would thus be taught that freedom from
man’s tyranny brings us nearer to God -- that, while rejecting
earthly lords, we willingly acknowledge our dependence on the Lord of
heaven and earth. The
celebration of the Fourth of July has a marked effect on our national
character. The American
citizen dwelling in foreign countries feels the influence of observing
that day. It gives him an increase in honor among the millions who are
pining in vain for such high privileges as his national birthright
bestows; and he is proud of the title, “American citizen.”
The Day of Thanksgiving would, if observed nationally, soon be
celebrated in every part of the world where an American family was
settled. If the
last Thursday in November could be established as the Day, and
known to be the time in each year when, from Maine to New Mexico, and
from Plymouth Rock to the Pacific sands, the great American People
united in this festival of gladness and gratitude, the whole world
might be moved to join in the rejoicing, and bless God for his
goodness to the children of men.
Last year, nearly all the States and Territories united on that day.
This year, we trust, there will be no blank in the number, nor a seat
left vacant at the Table of the Nation.
1857
The National Thanksgiving
“Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the
sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for
this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of
the Lord is your strength,” NEHEMIAH
viii. 10.
SUCH was the order given to the people of Israel for the celebration
of their National and Religious
Festival, the “Feast of Weeks.”
We learn from this that a day of yearly rejoicing and giving of
gifts was not only sanctioned but enjoined, by Divine authority, on
God’s chosen people. Such
yearly festival is not positively enjoined on Christians; but that it
is both expedient and beneficial may be safely urged, when we find
that the practice was approved by our God and Father in heaven.
We have, for many past years, urged the advantages of having a
day set apart by the civil authorities of each State, which every
heart in our wide land may welcome as the time of joy and thankfulness
for the American people.
Our Day of Thanksgiving represents, in many striking coincidences, the
Jewish Feast of Weeks; only make our day national, and we should then
represent the union of joy that was the grand proof of the Divine
blessing.
Such social rejoicings tend greatly to expand the generous feelings of
our nature, and strengthen the bond of union that binds us brothers
and sisters in that true sympathy of American patriotism which makes
the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans mingle in our mind as waters that
wash the shores of kindred homes, and mark, from east to west, the
boundaries of our dominions.
The Creator has so constituted the race of mankind that their minds
need a moderate portion of amusement as imperatively as the body at
times wants stimulating food. This
recreative joyousness, this return, if you please, to the gayeties of
childhood, is good for the soul.
It sweetens the temper; it brightens hope; it increases our
love for each other, and our faith in the goodness of God.
There are individuals and nations who, from an unhappy state of
things, vice in themselves or in other persons, from poverty, or
political oppression, never “drink the sweet, nor eat the fat,”
but drag on a starved and miserable existence.
These are not, physically, true specimens of the human being;
want is written on the sunken cheek, and wasting despondency cripples
the feeble limbs.
Even thus mental starvation from all the sweet joys of social
intercourse and innocent merrymaking, has a wasting and deforming
effect upon human character, similar to bad or insufficient diet on
the bodily constitution. God
intended that all our faculties should, in the right way, be
exercised; and neglect of such exercise changes us to incomplete
creatures. One has but a
lame existence who has lost or neglected to cultivate “the store
that nature to her votary yields.”
Or busy, wealth seeking people require to have days of national
festivity, when the fashion and the custom will call them to the feast
of love and thanksgiving.
So we agree with the large majority of the governors of the different
States, that THE LAST THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER should be the DAY OF
NATIONAL THANKSGIVING for the American people.
Let this day, from this time forth, as long as our Banner of
Stars floats on the breeze, be the grand THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY of our
nation, when the noise and tumult of worldliness may be exchanged for
the laugh of happy children, the glad greetings of family reunion, and
the humble gratitude of the Christian heart.
Consecrate the day to benevolence of action, by sending good gifts to
the poor, and doing those deeds of charity that will, for one day,
make every American home the place of plenty and of rejoicing.
These seasons of refreshing are of inestimable advantage to the
popular heart; and, if rightly managed, will greatly aid and
strengthen public harmony of feeling.
Let the people of all the States and Territories set down
together to the “feast of fat things” and drink, in the sweet
draught of joy and gratitude to the Divine giver of all our blessings,
the pledge of renewed love to the Union, and to each other; and of
peace and goodwill to all the world.
Then the last Thursday in
November will soon become the day of AMERICAN THANKSGIVING
throughout the world.
1858
Our National Thanksgiving
“All the blessings of the fields,
All the stores the garden
yields,
All the plenty summer
pours,
Autumn’s rich,
o’erflowing stores,
Peace, prosperity, and
health,
Private bliss and public
wealth,
Knowledge with its
gladdening streams,
Pure religion’s holier
beams
LORD, for these our souls
shall raise
Grateful vows and solemn
praise.”
We are most happy to agree with the large majority of the governors of
the different States as shown in their unanimity of action for several
past years, and which, we hope, will this year be adopted by all that
THE LAST THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER shall be the DAY OF NATIONAL
THANKSGIVING for the American people.
Let this day, from this time forth, as long as our Banner of
Stars floats on the breeze, be the grand THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY of our
nation, when the noise and tumult of worldliness may be exchanged for
the laugh of happy children, the glad greetings of family reunion, and
the humble gratitude of the Christian heart.
This truly American Festival falls, this year, on the twenty-fifth
day of this month.
Let us consecrate the day to benevolence of action, by sending
good gifts to the poor, and doing those deeds of charity that will,
for one day, make every American home the place of plenty and of
rejoicing. These seasons
of refreshing are of inestimable advantage to the popular heart; and,
if rightly managed, will greatly aid and strengthen public harmony of
feeling. Let the people of all the States and Territories sit down
together to the “feast of fat things,” and drink, in the sweet
draught of joy and gratitude to the Divine giver of all our blessings,
the pledge of renewed love to the Union, and to each other; and of
peace and goodwill to all men. Then
the last Thursday in November will soon become the day of AMERICAN
THANKSGIVING throughout the world.
1859
SHALL THANKSGIVING DAY BE AN AMERICAN NATIONAL FESTIVAL?
Join, every living soul,
In adoration join, and ardent raise
The general song!
THOMPSON
Dear Lord, our God and Saviour! for Thy gifts
The world were poor in thanks, though every soul
Were to do nought but breathe them.
HAILEY’S
FESTUS
THAT the American People shall have an annual Thanksgiving Festival
after the ingathering of their harvests is now a settled matter.
Every State and Territory has, in some way, signified its
willingness to adopt this venerable custom, which we recognize in the
Jewish “Feast of Weeks,” as appointed by Jehovah for His Chosen
People. Is it not,
therefore, peculiarly appropriate that “we, the People of the United
States,” who acknowledge only the Supreme Ruler of the Universe as
our Sovereign, should pay this yearly tribute of gratitude and thanks
in national unanimity?
The propriety and general advantages of a common Day for our whole
Nation to express and acknowledge that “goodness beyond thought and
power divine” which blesses the increase of the husbandman, and
keeps ward for the safety of the city, have never failed to win the
approbation of those who have thoughtfully considered the subject.
Still, in our wide land so many occupations and such varied
interests and distractions, in the multiform demands of private as
well as public life, abound, that men are apt to forget
duties which are not brought before them with the regularity of dates
and appointed epochs.
In order to overcome this difficulty, we have, in our Lady’s Book,
been in the habit of urging on the attention of our readers and
friends, year by year, for the past ten or more years, the plan of a
National Thanksgiving. We
have suggested the last Thursday in November as the most suitable DAY to be set
apart by the Governor of each and every State for this Festival, which
would then become a National Jubilee.
The last Thursday in November was suggested because then the
agricultural labors of the year are generally completed; the elections
are over; those autumnal diseases which usually prevail more or less
at the South have ceased, and the summer wanderers are gathered to
their homes. We have received letters approving this Union Festival from
Governors of nearly every State and Territory, and within the last few
years the idea has been acted on widely, but not yet unanimously.
Last year (1858) there were, according to a work lately
published, twenty-one States united on the 25th of November, while
four States held Thanksgiving on other days.
But there were a large number united -- twenty-six, we believe;
still, the union was not complete.
We now make our appeal to the people and their rulers for the year,
the Governors of each and every State and Territory, praying the
former to aid by expressing their approbation, and the latter by their
proclamations to make the last Thursday in November of this year A
THANKSGIVING UNION FESTIVAL!
We have now but two days set apart for popular rejoicing.
The 22d of February is the Day of National Patriotism; the
Fourth of July is the Jubilee of National Independence.
Let the last Thursday in November be consecrated by gratitude
to God for His wonderful blessings on our people, the crowning glory
of which is our National Union. We
shall then have three American Festivals, which our own citizens,
wherever they might be, would observe with pride, joy, and
thankfulness. The
influence of these stated seasons of sacred remembrances, high
aspirations, and tender, yet happy household rejoicings would not only
be salutary on the character of our own citizens, but the world would
be made better and happier by the sentiments which our Festivals
teach.
It may be asked, would you put people in mind of being good and
grateful?
Yes! if they neglect
those virtues without a reminder.
If the germ of good feeling be ever so deeply buried under
“the cares, and riches, and pleasures of this life,” it may be
brought out by sympathy and vivified by culture and effort.
A national feeling of THANKSGIVING, putting the bounty,
goodness, and love of the Creator before the eyes of the dullest and
the hearts of the coldest, would effect incalculable benefits to our
Country.
1859
OUR THANKSGIVING UNION
THE last Thursday in November -- will it not be a great day in our
Republic? Seventy years
ago the political union of the United States was consummated; in 1789,
the thirteen individual States, then forming the American Confederacy,
became, by the ratification of the Constitution, over the forming of
which Washington himself presided, the United American Nation.
The flag of our country now numbers thirty-two stars on its
crown of blue, and some half dozen or more additional starlets are
shining out of the depths of our wilderness continent, soon to be
added to our system of independent and united Government of the
People. God save the
United States! He has
saved, enlarged, blessed, and prospered us beyond any people on this
globe. Should we not be
thankful, and keep high holiday of gratitude and gladness in
acknowledgment of these national blessings?
Seventy years ago, there were only about three millions of
people under our flag; now it waves its protecting folds from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, and nearly thirty millions of souls are
enjoying its blessings. If
every State should join in union thanksgiving on the 24th of this
month, would it not be a renewed pledge of love and loyalty to the
Constitution of the United States, which guarantees peace, prosperity,
progress, and perpetuity to our great Republic?
Letter to the Editress of the
Lady’s Book
DEAR MADAM: Your admirable suggestions in relation to the
simultaneous observance of Thanksgiving Day over the whole Union have,
before this, made a deep, and, let us trust, an abiding impression in
the most influential and desirable quarters.
At the risk of repeating your own ideas, let me express some
thoughts which naturally occur to me in this connection.
The Union of these States is not consummated by appeals to national
loyalty, nor to that national pride expressed in our motto, that union
is strength. In short,
all theoretical and abstract appeals to the Union are without root,
and consequently without fruit. What
makes the Union more than a mere word for poets or politicians, what
makes it a blessing to be prayed for and preserved at any hazard, is
quite on other grounds than price.
An angry man hesitates to set his house on fire, because in
every room is one of his own sleeping children.
In these United States are scattered broadcast, growing up side
by side with the natural productions, or else grafted on the ancient
trees, the universal Yankee nation.
Peddling his nutmegs and tinware, or presiding with energy and
dignity over a seminary for education, inventing the most wonderful
machinery for the most common purposes, or infusing into a languid and
inert population some of the superfluous breezy activity of his own
arid and mountainous districts, everywhere meddling, making,
contriving, but everywhere inspiriting and improving, is the Yankee. He is one of the older children of the household, and, as
such, assumes a superiority in many matters, but ill borne out by his
manners. Be this as it
may, wherever he wanders he weaves his web of prosperous industry; the
land is better for him. He
brings home to his native hills the sweet southern flower, or he stays
amidst southern gardens to water and refresh them by a patent
irrigator. Family
ties increase and are strengthened.
The youth of farthest Maine writes love-messages on the
magnolia grandiflora leaf to the pale Floridian; the rosy belles
of Massachusetts link hands and hearts with the elegant and languid
Carolinians. In every
chamber there is a child of the house.
Now, next to ties of blood and kindred come language and national
observances. We are
already spread and mingled over the Union.
Each year, by bringing us oftener together, releases us from
the estrangement and coolness consequent on distance and political
alienations; each year multiplies our ties of relationship and
friendship. How can we
hate our Mississippi brother-in-law?
and who is a better fellow than our wife’s uncle from St.
Louis? If Maine itself be
a great way off, and almost nowhere, on the contrary, a dozen splendid
fellows hail from Kennebec County, and your wife is a down-Easter.
Now, when the Autumn sheaves are bound up, when the harvest
moon bends smilingly above us, when Nature, having finished her annual
work, throws herself wearily down, tossing from her lap abundance, and
saying, not in words, but deeds, “Be thankful to the Giver!” --
then, in every true American heart, wherever beating, comes the
thought of the family gathering, kindred smiles, or tearful memories.
Wherever we may be, it is a good and pleasant thing to feel
that we look at the same stars, pray to the same God, and hold high
festival of gratitude at the same hours throughout the broad land that
He has so blessed!
1860
The
New National Holiday.
We may now consider Thanksgiving
a National Holiday. It
will no longer be a partial and vacillating commemoration of gratitude
to our Heavenly Father, observed in one section or State, while other
portions of our common country do not sympathize in the gratitude and
gladness. It is to be a
regularly recurring Festival, appointed by the concert of the State
Governments to be observed on
the last Thursday in November thus made, for all future time, THE
AMERICAN THANKSGIVING DAY.
Such is the happy inference we draw from the patriotic unanimity of
the Governors in their last appointments of Thanksgiving. On the last Thursday of last November, the people of
the following States and Territories held and consecrated this New
National Holiday:
|
*New York
*Pennsylvania
*Massachusetts
*Maryland
*New Hampshire
*New Jersey
*North Carolina
*South Carolina
*Georgia
*Connecticut
*Rhode Island
*Virginia
Vermont
Kentucky
Tennessee
Ohio |
Indiana
Mississippi
Illinois
Alabama
Maine
Arkansas
Michigan
Florida
Texas
Iowa
Wisconsin
California
Minnesota
Nebraska Territory
Kansas Territory
District of Columbia |
*The old States of
the “Confederacy” that framed the Constitution and decreed the
perpetual Brotherhood of citizens of “The United States of North
America.”
Virginia,
as a State, did not, we regret to say, participate in Thanksgiving;
because Governor Wise had doubts concerning his official authority to
appoint such an observance. But
the Presbyterian Synod of the State, and the Cities of Fredericksburg,
Norfolk, and Alexandria joined in the Festival, which was thus
sanctioned by a large portion of the people of old and honored Virginia.
Next November, we hope, that State will have its Union
Thanksgiving.
It will be seen from this list that the concert of public opinion is
nearly unanimous. Indeed,
we may assume that all the
States approve this idea of a National Thanksgiving, because those that
did not join last November have done so in years past.
The late omission, therefore, was caused, no doubt, by
forgetfulness. This leads us to suggest the necessity that the
time of holding this New Holiday should be fixed by each State,
making it the duty of the governor to issue his proclamation yearly for the
last Thursday in November.
God has given to man authority, to woman influence; she inspires and
persuades, he convinces and compels.
For the last twelve years, the editress of the Lady’s Book has
been endeavoring to bring about this agreement in popular feeling.
We have used our influence, always, we trust, in a womanly way,
and now we would render deep gratitude to God who had blessed our humble
prayers and efforts, and express thus publicly our thanks to those
generous men who have encouraged and accomplished our plan.
We now leave the perpetuation of this good work, by the enactment
of a statue in each State, to the good and patriotic men everywhere to
be found, who love the Constitution and the Union.
Everything that contributes to bind us in one vast empire together, to
quicken the sympathy that makes us feel from the icy North to the sunny
South that we are one family, each a member of a great and free Nation,
not merely the unit of a remote locality, is worthy of being cherished. We have sought to reawaken and increase this sympathy,
believing that the fine filaments of the affections are stronger than
laws to keep the Union of our States sacred in the hearts of our people.
Is it not fitting that from the heart of the Keystone State, this city
of Independence Hall, the impulse of the new National Holiday should go
forth? “A threefold cord
is not quickly broken.” This
American festival adds the third strand to the cord that binds American
hearts in nationality. The
twenty-second of February, the Fourth of July, the last Thursday in
November these three DAYS observed, will make and keep us American
citizens. Well did that
patriot divine, Rev. Charles Wadsworth, exclaim, in his last
Thanksgiving sermon
“Thanks be unto God for this American Pentecost! Never were the bonds of our beloved brotherhood so revealed
in their strength! Never
before did so many sister States keep lovingly together this feast of
harvest. It is the
gathering of the one great household with offerings of praise to the one
common temple the central Salem of peace the God of love.”
We believe our Thanksgiving Day, if fixed and perpetuated, will be a
great and sanctifying promoter of this national spirit.
Our whole people will then look forward to it, make preparations
to honor and enjoy it. Literature
will take her part and send her tribute of gratitude. We have received and read a number of excellent articles
lately, and, what gave us particular pleasure, “A Thanksgiving
Story,” setting forth the sterling virtues and the happiness derived
from family reunions and the cultivation of fireside enjoyments.
Let Thanksgiving, our American Holiday, give us American books,
song, story, sermon written expressly to awaken in American hearts the
love of home and country, of thankfulness to God, and peace between
brethren. We do earnestly hope and pray that the last Thursday in November may be established as the American
Thanksgiving Day. Then,
on that Day, our citizens,
whether in their own pleasant homes, or in the distant regions of
Oriental despotism, would observe it on board every ship where our flag
floats there would be a day of gladness wherever our missionaries preach
the Gospel of “goodwill to men,” the day
would exemplify the joy of Christians; and in our Great Republic, from
the St. John’s to the Rio Grande, from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
all our people, as one Brotherhood, will rejoice together, and give
thanks to God for our National, State, and Family blessings.
1860
THANKSGIVING the new National
Holiday. We must advert
once more to this grand object of nationalizing Thanksgiving Day, by
adopting, as a permanent rule, the
last Thursday in November in all the States.
Last year, 1859, thirty
States and three Territories held Thanksgiving on the same day the
last Thursday in November. This
year we hope that every State and Territory will be included in the
list. Last year this
Thanksgiving was observed by the American residents in Paris, Berlin,
and Berne; in the last two cities the American ministers to Switzerland
and Prussia took the leading part of the festivities.
Thanksgiving was also held on board two of the American
squadrons, that of the Mediterranean and the African; and, moreover,
several of the American missionary establishments in foreign lands have
signified their willingness to set apart the day named.
This year the last Thursday in
November falls on the 29th. If
all the States and Territories hold their Thanksgiving on that day,
there will be a complete moral and social reunion of the people
of America in 1860. Would
not this be a good omen for the perpetual political union of the States?
May God grant us not only the omen, but the fulfillment is our
dearest wish!
1860
Thanksgiving a Legal Holiday
Perseverance
Keeps honor bright. To have
none is to hang
Quite out of fashion, like a rusty nail,
In monumental mockery.
SHAKESPEARE.
Attempt the end, and never stand to doubt;
Nothing’s so hard but search will find it out.
HERRICK.
The plain meaning of our mottoes is, have an aim, and pursue it; a work
to do, and do it. Thus
hoping and working, success is sure.
We accept the augury. Thanksgiving
will become an American Festival; the LAST THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER will be
made a legal National Holiday
in every State of the Union. This
consummation that we have devoutly wished must be kept before the public
till perfected. To have the
DAY legalized by every State Legislature is now the only question.
That this movement is popular in every portion of our wide land
need not be argued; it was proven by nearly unanimous appointments of
last Thanksgiving. Our list
in the February number of our Book shows that twenty-nine States held
this Festival on the same day. There
should have been another name. Louisiana was omitted, not by purpose or mistake, but for
want of information. We
shall now give a corrected list, and take the liberty of prefacing this
by inserting the pleasant and welcome letter which announced that the
“Pelican State” took its part in the Festival.
WASHINGTON CITY, January 22,
1859
I notice in your February number a list of States and Territories that
observed the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving, and
find that you omit, as most of the papers have also done, Louisiana.
For the last ten years, the day has been observed in that State,
and no dislike or opposition has been manifested to it.
I give a list of legal holidays in that State, as a matter that
may be of interest, more especially as I find very erroneous and
ridiculous ideas prevailing at the North in regard to the Pelican State.
By act of Legislature, New
Year’s Day, the 8th of January (Anniversary of the Battle of New
Orleans), 22d of February, Good Friday, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and
Christmas are holidays, and legally
dies non.
A LOUISIANIAN.
The corrected list of the
States that held Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November, 1859:
|
New York
Pennsylvania
Massachusetts
Maryland
New Hampshire
New Jersey
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Virginia
Vermont
Kentucky
Louisiana
Tennessee
Minnesota |
Ohio
Indiana
Mississippi
Illinois
Alabama
Maine
Arkansas
Michigan
Florida
Texas
Iowa
Wisconsin
California
Nebraska Territory
Kansas Territory
District of Columbia |
Moreover,
we have a letter from the Governor of Oregon, Hon. John Whittaker,
expressing regret that our notice did not reach him in season, and he
appointed the Day in December; but this year we feel sure that that new
and patriotic State will join the National Festival, which will be held
if all the Governors agree on the last Thursday, the 29th of November,
1860.
The State of Rhode Island has lately legalized the 22d of February as a
holiday. Would it not be
well if all the States which have not done this
would follow the example and set apart the Birthday of Washington
and Thanksgiving Day the last
Thursday in November as perpetual holidays for American citizens?
1861
Thanksgiving Day: the Last Thursday in November
Oh, praise the Lord, for he is good, and his mercy endureth forever.
Psalms.
Yes, amidst all the agitations that stir the minds of men and cause the
hearts of women to tremble in fear and sorrow, among all the woes
generated by human passions and human sins, the mercy of the Lord is
over his children. It is
the King of Heaven who gives us, year by year, the kindly fruits of the
earth, and prepares our bread in due season.
The past harvest has been a time of rich blessings over nearly
all Christendom; from the greater portions of Europe, throughout the
length and breadth of our own beloved land, come the glad tidings of
food enough and to spare.
This past year has also been distinguished by its freedom from
pestilence and wasting sicknesses.
Health has been in all our borders - would that we could add, peace
has reigned and goodwill has been extended! But we must acknowledge that the goodness of God has not
failed. Shall we not, then,
lay aside our enmities and strifes, and suspend our worldly cares,
toils, and pursuits on one day
in the year, devoting it to a public Thanksgiving for all the good gifts
God has bestowed on us and on all the earth?
Surely it is ground for no ordinary thankfulness to know that even at a
time like the present we have a surplus of food to spare, should the
poor of other lands need a supply.
Ought not this fact to teach us to extend our sympathies beyond
the limits of our own country, and to do all that lies in our power to
promote the reign of “Peace on earth and goodwill among men?”
All nations are members of one brotherhood, under the fostering care of
the one beneficent Father of humanity.
What could do more to arouse and preserve the fraternal feelings
which should exist, especially among the nations of Christendom, than
the establishment and universal observance of one general Christian
Festival of Thanksgiving, on the
same day of the year, throughout those nations?
All sects and creeds who take the Bible as their rule of faith
and morals could unite in such a festival.
The Jews, also, who find the direct command for a feast at the
ingathering of harvest, would gladly join in this Thanksgiving and in
every country of Europe it would become, as we trust it will soon be in
our own country, a universal holiday on the LAST THURSDAY OF NOVEMBER.
The enjoyment of it would be heightened in every land by the knowledge
that in all other lands where the Bible was the BOOK of faith, in all
places throughout the globe where Christians of any nation or creed
could meet together, this happy, hallowed festival was and forever would
be kept on the last Thursday of November.
We can do no more at present than to offer this suggestion for the
consideration of the friends of peace and of religion in all countries,
believing that it must commend itself to the sympathies of every one who
will give it due attention; and that with judicious exertions it may be
carried into effect. There
is something so cheering and delightful in the idea of a DAY OF
UNIVERSAL THANKSGIVING, set apart among all the branches of the
Christian family, when the storms of war would be hushed, and the
strifes of factions, parties, and sects forgotten for a time, and all
hearts united in one sentiment of gratitude to the Divine Father of
humanity, that the mere proposal of this plan seems almost to insure its
fulfillment.
The way is already prepared; for the last ten years or more the idea of
our American national Thanksgiving has been gradually growing in favor
and becoming an observance in all our States and Territories. The last Thursday in November has thus been known as the
American Festival Day, and for the last three years has been observed by
Americans in European cities and wherever our countrymen could meet
together. It has been kept
on board our fleets in the Mediterranean, African, and Brazilian
stations; our missionaries in India, China, Africa have approved of this
festival, and last year it was observed by our countrymen in Japan.
Hon. Townsend Harris, American ambassador to that empire,
inclosed in a letter to us his proclamation setting apart, in conformity
with American custom, the last
Thursday in November as a day of public Thanksgiving to Almighty
God.
The following extract from a letter of an American resident shows how it
was observed:
“YOKOHAMA, JAPAN,
Dec. 5, 1860
Last Thursday, the 29th, was Thanksgiving, by proclamation of the
American Minister at Jeddo and Gen. Dorr, our consul here at Kanagawa.
The Rev. Mr. Brown, one of the American missionaries of this place,
preached a sermon at the residence of Gen. Dorr.
Nearly all the American residents here at Yokohama and Kanagawa
were present. Hon. Townsend
Harris was down, and spent Thanksgiving with General Dorr.”
Thus, from our Western world to the Isles of the rising sun, this chord
of sympathy in thankful gratitude to the true God has been awakened, and
the sentiment that makes Christian brotherhood a source of joy and hope
has been strengthened. This
feeling was strongly drawn forth at the last year’s festival in
Berlin, now the centre of German movements for nationality.
The following pleasant description of the dinner will show the
good influences it promoted as well as the happiness it conferred:
THANKSGIVING DAY IN BERLIN
BERLIN, Nov. 29, 1860
“In the most splendid street in this great city, `Unter der
Linden,’ is one of the loveliest little dininghalls I ever saw. Its walls are adorned with the portraits of Schiller, and
Goethe, and Beethoven, and the other masters of pen and of song.
These worthies looked very strange tonight, peeping out from the
folds of innumerable `stars and stripes,’ which draped the walls on
every side. The sides of
the room seemed to be a greenhouse of large, luxuriant plants, and the
table itself was groaning under its weight of flowers.
A few minutes after five o’clock P.M., Gov. Wright, our
ambassador to the Prussian Court was seen to talk to the head of the
table, and take his seat. In
a moment the hundred guests, students in Berlin, travellers to and from
our native land, American residents of other cities, called in from
their present homes to eat this patriotic dinner, together with a few
German friends, took seats at the ample board.
The band commenced; we all expected, from the preliminary
flourishes, some unknown composition of Beethoven; but what was our
surprise and delight to hear them soon fall gracefully into the grand
measures of Old Hundred! By
instinct every voice joined in the hymn
`Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”
Then a fervent prayer of praise and thanksgiving was offered by
Rev. Geo. C. Robinson, of Cincinnati, and in a moment more every
distinguishable sound was lost in the clatter of busy knives and forks.
There was everything which we could have got at grandmother’s, except
the pumpkin pies. The
ladies tried it; but here the Dutch cooks declared that forbearance
ceased to be a virtue, and openly rebelled against baking such
“ausgezeig net nujeheur” (adverbs so transcendently superlative that
they can’t be described) compounds in their ovens!
But, as a remuneration, Gov. Wright had generously imported at
his own expense an abundance of more delicious sweet potatoes, and
cranberries, and dried sweet corn direct from home!
How we did feast on these goodies!
And then we would sing a song, and make the kelner bring us one
more plate of roast turkey, with just the least bit of sweet potato and
some of that delicious cranberry sauce.
Ah, you hundred grandmothers, who prayed so fervently for your
boys off here in a strange land, we had everything to remind us of you
tonight.
And now the Governor arose: all was silence.
He said, before he gave the first toast he wanted to make this a
true American Thanksgiving by remembering the poor.
The plate was passed, and seventy-five thalers were collected, to
be distributed by a city missionary, recently established here through
Gov. Wright’s instrumentality in great measure, in imitation of
similar institutions in New York.
And then began the speeches, and the toasts, and the stories.
The enthusiasm soon kindled to such a degree that a German
friend, Prof. Holsendorf, of the University, rose voluntarily and said
he wished he had his countrymen here now who never heard anything about
America except Bowie knives and steamboat explosions. At that, a student jumped to his feet and said he loved all
the institutions of our country, even such peculiar institutions as
steamboat explosions; for who would not rather be blown a half way from
New York to Albany than never get there!”
If this November does not seem
the time for rejoicing, then consecrate the last
Thursday in the month to benevolence of action, by sending gifts to
the poor, and doing those deeds of kindness that will for one day make every American
home the place of gladness and every American heart hopeful and
thankful. A day of fasting
might seem more becoming, if the festival had reference to the condition
of the country or the deeds of men; but when God is the Benefactor we
praise, the Ruler we exalt, have we not always cause of joy and
gratitude? It was to human
vision a gloomy time in Judea when the prophet said unto the people:
Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto
them for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy unto our Lord;
neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah viii. 10.
Shall the 28th of November (the last Thursday) be this year an American
Thanksgiving Day?
1862
THANKSGIVING DAY – THE LAST THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER
Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and His mercy
endureth forever.
PSALMS.
The annual Festival of Thanksgiving is near at hand. Will it not be remembered and observed? The mercy of the Lord is not slack; He has given us rich
harvests and filled the garners of our land.
Health has been all our borders would that we could add peace
has reigned and goodwill been extended! But we must all acknowledge that the goodness of God has not
failed.
Last year this National Feast Day was celebrated in twenty-four States
and three Territories; all these, excepting the States of Massachusetts
and Maine, held the Festival on the same day the
last Thursday in November. We
suggested last year that, as all nations are members of one brotherhood,
under the fostering care of one Beneficent Father of Humanity, it would
be of much effect in promoting the kindly feelings which should be
cultivated among Christian people if the universal observance of one
General Festival of Thanksgiving for the bounties of Divine Providence
could be established on the same day of the year throughout all Christendom.
All sects and creeds who take the Bible as their rule of faith and
morals could unite in such a Festival.
The Jews, who find the direct command for a Feast at the
ingathering of harvest, would gladly join in this Thanksgiving, and in
every country in Europe it would become, as we trust it will soon be in
our beloved country, a universal Holiday on the LAST THURSDAY OF
NOVEMBER.
This year the day falls on the 27th of this month. We earnestly hope every State in our Union will unite on that
day in a fervent Thanksgiving to God for his blessings and bounties.
1863
Our National Thanksgiving
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the
sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared; for
this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the
Lord is your strength. Nehemiah
viii. 10.
THUS commanded the inspired leader of the Jews, when they kept the
“Feast of Weeks;” in a time of national darkness and sore troubles
shall we not recognize that the goodness of God never faileth, and that
to our Father in heaven we should always bring the Thanksgiving offering
at the ingathering of the harvest?
Wise lawgivers and great patriots have acknowledged the salutary effect
of appointed times for national reunions which combine religious
sentiment with domestic and social enjoyment; thus feelings of
benevolence are awakened, and gratitude to the Giver of all our
blessings is seen to be the great duty of life.
Owing to the different economy of different churches, among
Protestant denominations, except the Christian Sabbath, all our
religious commemorations are partial and local.
Can we not, then, following the appointment of Jehovah in the “Feast
of Weeks,” or Harvest Festival,
establish our yearly THANKSGIVING as
a permanent American National Festival, which shall be celebrated on the
last Thursday in November in every State of our Union?
Indeed it has been nearly accomplished.
For the last twelve or fourteen years, the States have made
approaches to this unity. In
1859 thirty States and three
Territories held the Thanksgiving Festival on the same day the last
Thursday in November. It
was also celebrated that year and the following on board several of the
American fleets ships in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, and on the
Brazil station; by the Americans in Berlin at our Prussian Embassy; in
Paris and in Switzerland; and American missionaries have signified their
readiness to unite in this Festival if it should be established on a
particular day which can be known as the American Thanksgiving.
Then, in every quarter of the globe our nationality would be
recognized in connection with our gratitude to the Divine giver of all
our blessings. The pious
and loving thought that every American was joining in heart with the
beloved family at home and with the church to which he belonged, would
thrill his soul with the purest feelings of patriotism and the deepest
emotions of thankfulness for his religious enjoyments.
Would it not be of great advantage, socially, nationally, religiously,
to have the DAY of our American Thanksgiving positively settled?
Putting aside the sectional feelings and local incidents that
might be urged by any single State or isolated Territory that desired to
choose its own time, would it not be more noble, more truly American, to
become nationally in unity
when we offer to God our tribute of joy and gratitude for the blessings
of the year?
Taking this view of the case, would it not be better that the
proclamation which appoints Thursday the 26th of November (1863) as the
day of Thanksgiving for the people of the United States of America
should, in the first instance, emanate from the President of the
Republic to be applied by the Governors of each and every State, in
acquiescence with the chief executive adviser?
1864
OUR
NATIONAL THANKSGIVING – A DOMESTIC FESTIVAL
(HELD YEARLY ON THE LAST THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER)
On the twenty-fourth of this
month recurs the Day -- “The last Thursday in November” -- which has
now become firmly established as one of the three National Festivals of
America.
“The Birth of Washington,” which brings before all minds the example
of the patriot hero and the Christian man; “Independence Day,” which
reminds us of the free principles on which our Government was founded;
and “Thanksgiving Day,” which lifts our hearts to Heaven in grateful
devotion, and knits them together in bonds of social affection are three
anniversaries such as no other People have the good fortune to enjoy.
We fervently trust that, so long as the nation endures, these
three Festivals will continue to be observed with an ever deepening
sense of their beauty and value.
In our endeavors, which have been continued for many years, to secure
the recognition of one day
throughout the land as the Day of public Thanksgiving, we are
conscious of not having in any manner gone beyond the proper limits of
the sphere which we have prescribed for the Lady’s Book.
It is the peculiar happiness of Thanksgiving Day that nothing
political mingles in its observance.
It is in its very nature a religious and domestic holiday.
It belongs to the altar and the hearth, at which woman should
ever be present; and the women
of our country should take this day under their peculiar charge, and
sanctify it to acts of piety, charity, and domestic love.
There is one duty connected with the
day which on present occasion should be especially called to mind.
In the divine order which was given to the Israelites for the
celebration of their great National Festival, the “Feast of Weeks,”
they were bidden to “eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send
portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared.”
Although Providence has blessed our land with an abounding
harvest, we must remember that there are among us many who will have but
a scanty and insufficient share in this abundance.
The civil war has given to our care many maimed and helpless men,
many widows and orphans, many destitute refugees.
Notwithstanding all the provision made by the Government, there
will be ample room for all that private benevolence can bestow.
Let us each see to it that on this
one day there shall be no family or individual, within the compass
of our means to help, who shall not have some portion prepared, and some
reason to join in the general Thanksgiving.
Who can estimate the benefits and blessings which may flow from the
faithful observance of this happy Festival?
For one day the strife of parties will be hushed, the cares of
business will be put aside, and all hearts will join in common emotions
of gratitude and goodwill. We
may even hope that for one day war itself will cease by common consent,
as was the custom in the Middle Ages during the solemn church Festival
known as the “Truce of God;” and it is not impossible that
sentiments may then be awakened which will aid in bringing on that
return of true union and peace which is so earnestly desired.
At all events, we may be sure that, wherever it is possible, among our
warworn soldiers in every camp and hospital, among our gallant sailors
on every sea, among our devoted missionaries, laboring throughout all
heathendom, among patriotic Americans in every foreign country, as well
as among millions of homes in our own wide land, between the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans, this great National and Domestic Festival will be
celebrated with happy recollections and cheerful hopes, and with
grateful and softened hearts.
Let us all, with devout thankfulness to the beneficent Giver of all good
gifts, do our best to make this coming Thanksgiving Day a foretaste of
that happy period of “peace on earth and goodwill among men,” in
which all wrongs and sufferings from evil are to dissolve like shadows
before the noonday sun, in the righteousness and goodness which will
crown the glorious reign of Christ on earth.
NOTE. – On the last Thursday in November, 1859, the following States
united in holding their Thanksgiving by proclamations from their
respective Governors, thus, by the will of the people, sanctioning the
establishing of this National and Domestic Festival as an American
institution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan,
Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas (then a
Territory), California, Nebraska Territory, District of Columbia.
In November, 1860, the number was about the same, and also this American
Festival was celebrated by the resident Americans abroad, by our
embassies, and on board our fleets.
Last year, 1863, the Day was appointed by the President, and was
joyfully observed in our own land, wherever the American flag held sway,
and in the Old World wherever the knowledge of this fixed
day, the last Thursday in November, was known to American residents
as the American Festival.
THANKSGIVING HYMN
Our father! To thy
throne our thoughts ascend
In grateful symphony of thanks and praise,
For all the mercies that our steps attend,
The smiles that bless, the hopes that cheer our days;
For all the gladness of the budding spring,
The golden garniture of summer fields,
The sheafy crown that Autumn glories bring,
The sweet content the Winter fireside yields.
For all the bounties of the fruitful sod,
We give thee thanks, our Father and our God.
We thank thee for the ward thine angels kept
Above the precious heads to us so dear,
That no ill thing should harm them while they slept,
Nor noonday pestilence should come anear.
And ah! the strokes that pierced our quivering hearts,
the blows that tore our dearest from the day!
We know thy mercy aimed the fatal darts,
We know ‘twas thine to give and take away.
Alike for fostering hand and chastening rod
We give thee thanks, our Father and our God.
We thank thee for the guiding radiance shed
Along the way wherein we journey here;
The faith that smooths the loftiest steep we tread.
The hope that lights us through the vale most drear;
The love unequalled, shown by Him who died
That we might live, who lives that we may rise
Through death to follow him, the Crucified,
Redeemer and Exemplar, to the skies.
We mark the shining path our Leader trod,
And give thee thanks, our Father and our God.
H.H.
1865
OUR NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY.
THE PLEDGE OF AMERICAN UNION FOREVER
Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
St. Luke, Chap. II, ver. 14.
Never, since the night when the angels shouted their tidings of great
joy over Judea, has any nation on earth had such a glorious opportunity
of echoing back to Heaven this song of joy and thanksgiving, for the
blessings of peace and goodwill, as the American people have now before
them.
Our annual Thanksgiving Day - the
last Thursday in November - is near at hand.
Then, throughout the length and breadth of our Great Republic,
the song of peace may be chanted, and goodwill or union, as the fruit of
peace, should it not be the keynote to sound our joy and rejoicing over
the wide world?
“Glory to God in the highest!”
If we take this sentiment as the ground of our National
thanksgiving, because our Lord and Saviour was sent to show by His
example and to teach by His precepts how men and women were to live on
earth so that they might be fitted to enjoy Heaven then we may easily
learn the duties this American Festival day imposes on every person who
enjoys its blessings.
Our Thanksgiving Day, becoming the focus, as it were, of the private
life and virtues of the people, should be hallowed and exalted, and made
the day of generous deeds and innocent enjoyments, of noble aspirations
and heavenly hopes.
What themes and opportunities are here for our reverend clergy!
A holy day is added to our days of rest from worldly labors; a
third joyful anniversary is sealed for the American Republic.
The Twenty-second of February is sacred to the memory of Washington and
patriotic duties. The Fourth of July is the Jubilee of National
Independence. The last
Thursday in November, let it be consecrated now to our Father in
heaven, for His bounteous blessings bestowed on us, as the perpetual DAY
OF THANKSGIVING for the American people.
Hitherto the observance of the day has been circumscribed.
To the Eastern colonies we must look for the beginning of this
custom. The Pilgrim Fathers
incorporated a yearly thanksgiving day among the moral influences they
sent over the New World. After
our Independence the light crept slowly onward and westward, broken by
State enactments into stars that glimmered at different times and at
distant intervals; yet still it blessed and beautified the homes it
reached, thus suggesting its beneficence and power for good whenever the
stars should shine out together and make joy and thanksgiving through
United America. It would be
like a new revelation of the dayspring from on high.
And now the time and the day are come.
Nineteen years ago the idea of this united American Thanksgiving Day was
put forth by the Editress of the Lady’s Book.
Our readers know how steadily, year by year, we have kept this
theme before the public. The
Governors of all the States have, at different times, signified their
approval. This was shown in
1859, when thirty-three stars (State and Territorial) united in the
galaxy that made the white brightness of the annual Thanksgiving.
As the deepest and holiest emotions of the heart must be founded in
truth and strengthened by religion, can there be a doubt that to make
this anniversary truly national will be to create a powerful means of
national unity? When
kneeling together in adoration to Him whose precepts are “Love one
another;” “Do unto
others as ye would they should do unto you;” when joining in prayers
for the same blessings and in thanksgivings for the same good gifts of
the season, can Americans feel otherwise than as brethren, whose
interests are united? whose aims should be to ennoble their common
country? whose lives, liberties, and fortunes are safe only under the
same glorious flag?
Our late beloved and lamented President Lincoln recognized the truth of
these ideas as soon as they were presented to him.
His reply to our appeal was a Proclamation, appointing the last
Thursday in November, 1863, as the day of National Thanksgiving.
But at that time, and also in November, 1864, he was not able to
influence the States in rebellion, so that the festival was,
necessarily, incomplete.
President Johnson has a happier lot.
His voice can reach all American citizens. From East to West, from North to South, the whole country
will be moved at his bidding; at home or abroad, on sea or land, the
appointed day will be welcomed as the seal of national peace and the
harbinger of national blessings.
Thus our own ideal of an AMERICAN THANKSGIVING FESTIVAL* will be
realized, as we described it in 1860.
The 30th of November, 1865, will bring the consummation.
“On that DAY our citizens, whether in their own pleasant homes,
or in the distant regions of Oriental despotism, would observe it on
board every ship where our flag floats there would be a day of gladness
wherever our missionaries preach the Gospel of “goodwill to men,”
the day would exemplify the joy of Christians; and in our Great
Republic, from the St. John’s to the Rio Grande, from the Atlantic to
the Pacific, all our people, as one Brotherhood, will rejoice together,
and give thanks to God for our National, State, and Family blessings.”
*Since the year 1859, the last
Thursday in November has been known over the world as the
“American Thanksgiving Day.” It
has been observed by Americans in Europe, Asia, and Africa; by our
fleets in the Mediterranean, African, and Brazilian waters; our foreign
missionaries have expressed their approval; it has been observed by the
American plenipotentiaries in London, Paris, Berlin, Berne, and Japan.
Thus, from our Western World to the isles of the rising sun a new
chord of sympathy has been awakened, and the sentiment that makes
Christian brotherhood a source of joy and hope has been strengthened.
The opportunity is now presented for a cordial and universal enjoy of
this festival in the United States.
And when our Christian temples of worship are crowded on
Thanksgiving Day, and from every altar goes up the sacrifice of faith
and love, prayer and praise, to the only living and true God, will not
the nations of the Old World learn and confess that America is a Christian Nation?
1866
AMERICAN NATIONAL THANKSGIVING
This Annual Festival is near at hand.
The very idea brightens gloomy November with the sunshine of
household joys that makes the month like spring-time to all young
hearts. Even sober-minded
elderly folks catch glimpses of their own childhood’s happiness
through the vista of past Thanksgivings, which make life more sweet, and
their own souls more thankful for the good gifts God’s love has
bestowed on our favored land.
Six millions of households gathered together on the last Thursday in November and uniting as one Great Family Republic,
whose States and Territories are all enjoying this AMERICAN FESTIVAL OF
THANKSGIVING-DAY; is not this a spectacle to move the Old World with
admiration and respect for the domestic, social, and religious
characteristics of the American nation, as well as to impress the idea
of an invincible moral power in our political institutions?
No wonder that Americans abroad, wherever they may be found, are glad
and proud to keep this National Thanksgiving-Day.
For years past it has thus been celebrated - the last Thursday in November - in many cities of Europe and Asia,
and on board of our American fleets at sea and in harbor.
Our missionaries in Turkey, India, and China have kept the day;
and wherever the tiding of appointment can reach, there this festival
will be held, as the best exponent which American residents in foreign
lands can give the native population of the prosperity and happiness of
the American people.
As yet we have been slow to use the great advantages for art and
literature which such an established national festival furnishes for the
pencil and pen of American genius.
A popular writer truly remarks: -
“There is something about the great central idea of our Thanksgiving
– the bringing together of scattered families, and the tender
recollection and renewal of old ties – which has no less poetry, and
romance, and pathos, and thorough geniality, than the Yule log, and the
mistletoe of Christmas. Every
reader who knows what Thanksgiving is, and has spent one at home after a
few years’ absence, can bear witness to the beautiful, romantic,
touching incidents and associations of that hallowed family time.
Sooner or later these lovable aspects of our Thanksgiving-day
will give birth to original species of American poetry, essay, and
story-telling.”
But when there is a positive certainty that the last Thursday in
November will be, by Presidential appointment, fixed as the day for the
Nation, and each State invited to bid its own citizens to join the
Festival, then the beautiful flowers and rich fruitage from this
perennial root of love, peace, and union, will burst forth and ripen in
the joyous pleasure of children, the happy reunion of families, the
tender sympathy that gives good gifts to the poor and suffering, and the
Christian charity that provides, on that day, a feast of fat things for
all who need, whether in the poor-house, the prison, or the
penitentiary.
Shall 1866 be the glorious year that establishes the custom forever, by
the union now of every State and Territory on the 29th of
November in this American National Thanksgiving?
NOTE. – On the last Thursday in November, 1859, the following States
united in holding their Thanksgiving by proclamations from their
respective Governors, thus, by the will of the people, sanctioning the
establishing of this National and Domestic Festival as an American
institution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan,
Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas (then a
Territory), California, Nebraska Territory, District of Columbia.
Since the year 1859, the last
Thursday in November has been known over the world as the
“American Thanksgiving Day.” It
has been observed by Americans in Europe, Asia, and Africa; by our
fleets in the Mediterranean, African, and Brazilian waters; our foreign
missionaries have expressed their approval; it has been observed by the
American plenipotentiary in London and Paris, Berlin, Berne, and Japan.
Thus, from our Western World to the isles of the rising sun a new chord
of sympathy has been awakened, and the sentiment that makes Christian
brotherhood a source of joy and hope has been strengthened.
The opportunity is now presented for a cordial and universal enjoyment
of this festival in the United
States. And when our
Christian temples of worship are crowded on Thanksgiving Day, and from
every altar toes up the sacrifice of faith and love, prayer and praise,
to the only living and true God, will not the nations of the Old World
learn and confess that America is a Christian Nation?
1867
THE LAST THURSDAY OF NOVEMBER
“Where are the flowers, the fair young flowers, that lately sprang
and stood
In brighter light and softer airs, a beauteous sisterhood?
Alas! they all are in their graves; the gentle race of flowers
Are lying in their lowly beds, with the fair and good of ours.
The rain is falling where they lie; but the cold November rain
Calls not from out the gloomy earth the lovely ones again.”
So sang the American Poet Laureate of nature.
But surely Mr. Bryant could not thus have given the month up to
melancholy if he had recollected the scenes of his boyhood, and how
mirth and charity hold, in our land, their happiest carnival in
November. A vision of the
Thanksgiving dinner in his New England home, with roasted turkeys and
pumpkin pies, and the family “round the board,” would have
brightened the gloomiest picture his fancy could have painted.
Next to Christmas, in the household festivities, comes AMERICAN
NATIONAL THANKSGIVING-DAY.
The important festival falls this year on the 28th of
November. On that DAY we
trust that every household in our land will have a good portion in the
feastings and a grateful heart in the Thanksgivings.
Think of the grand spectacle!
“Six millions of families gathered together on the last Thursday in November, and uniting as one Great Family republic,
whose States and Territories are all enjoying this AMERICAN FESTIVAL OF
THANKSGIVING-DAY; is not this a spectacle to move the Old World with
admiration and respect for the domestic, social, and religious
characteristics of the American nation, as well as to impress the idea
of an invincible moral power in our political institutions?
“No wonder that Americans abroad, wherever they may be found, are glad
and proud to keep this National Thanksgiving Day.
For years past it has thus been celebrated – the last Thursday in November – in many cities of Europe and Asia,
and on board of our American fleets at sea and in harbor.
Our missionaries in Turkey, India, and China have kept the day;
and wherever the tidings of appointment can reach, there this festival
will be held, as the best exponent which American residents in foreign
lands can give the native population of the prosperity and happiness of
the American people.”
Moreover, this year is distinguished by a great enlargement of our
borders. Walrussia is now
American territory. From
the icebergs of the North Pole to the Gulf of Mexico stretches the
latitude of our Republic, while the two wide oceans wash its eastern and
western borders. Around
this circuit of half a world the proclamation for “a Day of public
Thanksgiving” will draw the golden cord of National Union; and lift up
the heart of the American People in grateful adoration of their Almighty
Benefactor.
1868
AMERICAN NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY
The last Thursday of November
seems to be designated by peculiar fitness for our National
Thanksgiving. The harvest
labor has gathered in subsistence for the coming year; the turmoil of
elections is over, the cold blasts of winter begin to be felt, while yet
the beauty and freshness of our Indian summer remind us of the pleasant
season that has gone. The
moral significance of our great festival is too plain to need a comment,
and the joyful family reunions that are its invariable accompaniment are
the pleasant feature of the whole.
We can look back to a year marked upon the whole with many signal
blessings, and great advance in matters of national importance. Since last November, the republic has considerably extended
the boundary of her territory; the great festival will be held this year
amidst the snows of Alaska. The
great Pacific Railroad, that is destined to bind together the confines
of our empire with a closeness and intimacy as yet unknown, is making
rapid progress. Probably
before another year has passed it will be but an ordinary railway
journey from New York to San Francisco.
And while our internal communication has thus been quickened, our
commerce is also on the |
