History of Thanksgiving

What a great time of year Thanksgiving has turned out to be.  The weather is usually not too bad, the ground is not too frozen, access to the mountains in not too limited but it is definitely the wake up that winter is coming.  It is also a time of year that gives our families and friends an opportunity to “have” to get together to enjoy what we have available all year.  I am grateful for a holiday that reminds me to acknowledge what I have, what I am thankful for, and the things that mean the most to me.

The history of the Thanksgiving holiday goes back to the year 1621 when the colonists of Plymouth and the local Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that we recognize today as the first Thanksgiving celebration.  Various days for giving thanks were held yearly but in 1863, during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that a national day of Thanksgiving be held in November of each year.  His intention was to allow all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife and to heal the wounds of the nation.”  In 1941, President F. D. Roosevelt signed a bill making Thanksgiving a national holiday to be held annually on the fourth Thursday of every November.

Whatever your family tradition, I hope each of you have a great family holiday with your “having” to get together becoming a “wanting” to get together for years to come.

Tracy Davis, Superintendent

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