The Purpose of Thanksgiving

The primary purpose of the American thankgiving celebrations is to give thanks to Almighty God for the gifts and bless bestowed not only on the individual and their family but also on the United States of America as a nation.

Thanksgiving Day is a secular, non-religious holiday in the USA and the second biggest annual celebration after Christmas.  It is a time when family and friends come together to create special and lasting memories of their time together. It is a time when family members who live abroad or elsewhere in the US make a special effort to be with their loved ones, it is a time to pray together and give thanks to the unseen provider.

The American practice of setting aside a special day to give thanks began with the Pilgrim Fathers, lead by William Bradford, who left their homes in England, in search of a place where they would be able to freely practice their chosen  religion.  At that time it was common practice for those who did not belong to the mainstream protestant religion to suffer persecution, leaving them no other realistic option but to escape in search of religious freedom.

After what was a difficult journey lasting three months, the pilgrims finally landed in Boston, where they founded a colony which they named Pilgrims Colony.  When they arrived they were befriended by a local Indian tribe named the 'Wampanoag' who gave the new arrivals aid, assistance and advice and taught them the skills necessary to survive in their new home.  This included fishing, hunting,  farming and much more.

At the end of the first year William Bradford, who by now had had the title of Governor bestowed upon him, decided that they should hold a celebration in honour of their hosts to thank then for their help, friendship and support extended to them when they arrived in the New World.  The celebrations it was decided would include feasting and prayers and it would lase three days.  So successful was the idea that eventually the practice would spread throughout the other colonies.

At first each region held their celebrations on a different day of the year, this state of affairs did not rest easy with many, including Sarah Hale, a magazine editor who decided to use the medium of her publication to lobby successive Presidents and numerous Governors to have a unified day for celebrations.

This campaign for change eventually took thirty years to realise its goal and in the end it was President Abraham Lincoln who in 1886 issued a White House Proclamation, urging the whole of America to unite as one people by celebrate on the same day and chose the last Thursday in November. This was however not a lasting change because President Franklyn D. Roosevelt tampered with it by advancing it one week.  However, not all the states made the change and as a result the date was moved back to the original date set by President Lincoln and has remained unchanged ever since.

The Thanksgiving celebrations at its core is distinctly Christian, it is here to stay and although it is a tradition in which almost the whole of the US participates, each American is still at liberty to choose whether or not they celebrate and if they choose, to do it in their own particular way.

The meal play a pivotal role in the celebrations and central to the meal is the turkey.  The meal is preceded by prayers in many homes and whilst sitting around the table, members of the family, young and old often take turns to vocalise the things they have reasons to be most thankful for. It is worth remembering that whilst this is more often than not, a time to reflect and give thanks, in some cases the reverse happens and it can act as a catalist for the opening of old wounds although in most cases its intended pirposes is fully honoured by most.

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