In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
There were several observations of Thanksgiving. Those who observed them thanked Providence that they survived the previous year and reaped a bounty crop large enough to hold them through the coming Winter – with some to share.
May we remember and revere the true purpose and intent of Thanksgiving.
[Image and quote from here.]