Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year’s Day are annual holidays at the end and beginning of the year. In preparation for these celebrations, we overschedule and overwhelm ourselves in a frenzied pace. By the time we complete the tasks for one holiday, the next one is upon us. In this whirlpool of activity, many of us have forgotten, never learned, or have chosen to ignore the backstory of these holidays. Tangible items, extravagant affairs and events have riveted our attention. The passion which generated the holiday has long since evaporated and we speak of magic, feasts, and attend many gatherings with people we do not know for the sake of being seen in the right place, and therefore being perceived as important. Too often the holiday is no longer even a vacation. In one way or the other we work, drink, cry our way through the four holidays. Though these holidays are both secular and sacred, their histories can reignite our passions for them and enrich our contemporary traditions as well. A holiday without a backstory is like a house constructed on a poorly structured foundation; it becomes mere rubbish when storms hit. In the coming weeks, we will share briefly significant information about each festive time to add to the depth of the joy of the holidays.
In 1863, the United States was in the throes of the Civil War which would continue for another two years. In the same year, on September 28th, Sarah Josepha Hale, 74, a magazine editor and author of Mary Had Little Lamb, wrote a letter to President Abraham Lincoln advocating that Thanksgiving be made a national holiday in place of the variety of and varied dates of festivities in towns, municipalities, and states across the nation. Hale had been doing such advocacy for 17 years as an editor; Hale’s efforts were ignored by former presidents. But in 1863, a decisive victory at Gettysburg had occurred and in gratitude for it, on October 3rd, 1863, the President signed a proclamation that the nation would celebrate Thanksgiving annually on the fourth Thursday of November. On November 26th, 1863, the United States officially celebrated Thanksgiving as a nation.
Detroit Lions/Chicago Bears; Los Vegas Raiders/Dallas Cowboys; Buffalo Bills/New Orleans Saints, Best Thanksgiving Day shopping deals, Best Black Friday deals, scrumptious dinners, and social gatherings we will engage in as we wish (with safety in mind) during this Thanksgiving; however, let us intentionally set aside time to consider our God-given blessings even in our troubled times. We may find our ourselves less distraught, and our environments less turbulent as we go through the door of Thanksgiving giving thanks to God during this long holiday season.
Reflections
The Thanksgiving Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln
http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm
Corrections of Misinformation about Thanksgiving
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/11/26/why-we-celebrate-thanksgiving-every-year-it-isnt-what-you-think/
List twenty people, events, things for which you are thankful.
Dorothy Watson Tatem, D. Min, ACC
Senior Associate
Next Step Associates, LLC
Cassandra W. Jones, Ed.D.
CEO & President
Recent Comments