Thanksgiving. A day to give thanks? Or, a day to overindulge? What are we to do?
Each November, in the United States, we celebrate one day as Thanksgiving Day. This isn’t a uniquely Christian idea. Many religions call for a time of thanksgiving related to the end of the harvest. The actual date might change depending on when a proclamation of thanksgiving was sent out by religious leaders. Over time, setting the date for Thanksgiving Day became the province of nations, with kings, presidents, governors and parliaments and congresses setting the date.
George Washington was the first president of the United States to call for a nationwide day of thanksgiving. That was in 1789. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln attempted to set a regular day of thanksgiving on the final Thursday of November. His motivation was to build a sense of connection between the northern and southern states. However, since the confederate states had already renounced the authority of the union and the Civil War was in progress, his efforts failed. It wasn’t until 1870 that the final Thursday of November was celebrated by all of the states.
In 1941 President Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of the United States Congress setting the fourth Thursday of November as the official Day of Thanksgiving. He had attempted to get this done for two years previously by issuing Presidential Proclamations.
Following first a religious motivation and then political reasons, we now celebrate Thanksgiving Day. I wonder how much of the celebration still honors the original idea of giving thanks to God. It seems a little inconsistent to me that we give thanks by eating too much. If we are really giving thanks to God, then each bite would be a sacred action.
One reason Roosevelt settled on the date we have for Thanksgiving was an attempt to boost the nation’s economy. That worked in that we do honor the idea of boosting the nation’s economy. The Friday following Thanksgiving is considered the biggest shopping day of the year. Now, we are even cutting short the time for giving thanks so that stores can open earlier and the money be spent starting on Thursday.
I wonder if we can reclaim Thanksgiving as a religious holiday. To do that we will have to stop long enough to really understand that our survival is dependent on the grace of God. We will need to stop before the first bite of food, to offer a prayer of thanksgiving but more importantly to have a time of reflection on what God has been doing in our lives.
This year, I wish for you a true Day of Thanksgiving. Not just in words, but truly from the heart.
Ross T Lucas 