Column for Nov 22, 2007

Thanking God at Thanksgiving

This week, we as a nation celebrate a sacred holiday. It is not as big a holiday as it should be. Thanksgiving is a day for just that, giving thanks. I am often dismayed at the idea that it is simply a day to have a feast, eat domesticated turkey, gorge ourselves on the abundance with which this nation has been so blessed, and watch football. To many, it is but a day or two off from work and the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

It is bad enough that three radio stations in the Raleigh market have already started playing Christmas music full time. Wal-Mart has already started injecting Christmas music into its store public address system. Many stores started putting up Christmas decorations the day after Halloween, almost negating the sacred holiday in between.

This often over looked time of giving thanks has been maligned as to its purpose and frequency. In 1541, the Spaniards exploring the North American continent declared a time of thanksgiving in what is now Texas. I would be thankful to have gotten through Texas and finally found food, myself. As Coronado found out, Texas is a nice place to visit, but I would not to live there.

In the Revolutionary War period, there were multiple days a year set aside during which to offer thanks, such as after the Battle of Saratoga. Of course we read about an earlier time when the Pilgrims set aside time following the harvest in 1623. By the way, having grown up in the land of the Pilgrims, I can tell you for certain that the harvest did not take on the fourth Thursday in November and the feast would not have been outdoors as typically portrayed. It is too darn cold for either, so don't think that we celebrate Thanksgiving based upon the time frame of the activities that are in every elementary school re-enactment skit. Actually, early celebrations of thanksgiving entailed fasting rather than feasting.

A national day of thanksgiving was declared by George Washington for celebrating thirty years of nationhood in 1789. Another Washington proclamation came in 1795. Numerous presidents declared days of thanksgiving observances during their administrations. There was a thanksgiving day declared following the end of the War of 1812 as well as a day declared during the Civil War.

I look with disgust at the annual tradition of the President pardoning a turkey and think how far we have strayed from the precepts of a once hallowed tradition. What is the root of the tradition? Yes, to give thanks, but to whom and for what?

Just by way of research, I started to look up the history of Thanksgiving in America. One thing I find is the lack of to whom thanks was given. The pilgrims were said to have given thanks for the harvest. Of course they were thankful for the fruit of the harvest, but whom did they thank? Who did George Washington thank? Abraham Lincoln? Did they intend for us to have a day off to watch an annual parade and football on television? Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with football. I enjoyed watching the greatest NFL team in history, the New England Patriots, destroy the Buffalo Bills just the night prior to typing out this flimsy column.

What was missing from my research source material narratives was the emphasis of the entirely religious nature of taking the time to offer our thanks. The Proclamation of Thanksgiving by George Washington on October 3,1789 gives the purpose at its beginning. " Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor…"

This week, let us not forget to humbly take time to thank Almighty God for his benefits, His mercy, His love, His salvation, His grace that He has bestowed upon us, the blessings He has given our nation, our state, and our town. Let us thank Him for our safety and security, our liberty, and our provisions for health as no other nation has been able to enjoy these past few centuries.

I performed a quick search to see how often the words "give thanks" occur together in the Bible. The list is long and should tell us something about having an attitude of gratitude. I have a long list of things for which I am thankful, and I do express them to the source of my blessings, God Himself. May we all take the time to actually give thanks at Thanksgiving and have the courage to declare His glory.