My family of five observed our first American Thanksgiving in 1991. A few months earlier, we began our graduate studies in a northern suburb of Chicago. We learned rather quickly that in America, Thanksgiving was a time for families to get together.
An American family invited us to join them for that first celebration. For five years, we celebrated with them in St. Louis. The joyous times made the 300-mile journey very tolerable. Now, thirty-three years later, the friendships we maintain are just as meaningful as in those early years.
When twenty-two of us gather this week in Nashville, I will be aware that our celebration would not be anything like the first American Thanksgiving. The first observance of Thanksgiving in America was entirely religious in nature and involved no form of feasting. On Wednesday, December 4, 1619, a group of 38 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Plantation on the James River in Virginia. The charter of the group required that the day of arrival be observed as a Day of Thanksgiving to God.
The celebration was probably derived from the harvest-home ceremonies originally held in England. Those were days reserved to thank God for plentiful crops and a bountiful harvest. Accordingly, this holiday still takes place in England, late in the Fall Season, after crops have been gathered.
In 1789, following a proclamation issued by President George Washington, America celebrated its first official Day of Thanksgiving to God under its new constitution. That same year, the Protestant Episcopal Church announced that the first Thursday in November would become its regular day for giving thanks, “unless another day be appointed by the civil authorities.”
Yet, despite these early national proclamations, official Thanksgiving observances usually occurred only at the State level. Much of the credit for the adoption of a later annual national Thanksgiving Day may be attributed to Sarah Joseph Hale, the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book. For 30 years, she promoted the idea of a national Thanksgiving Day, contacting president after president until President Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside the last Thursday of November as a national Day of Thanksgiving.
Over the next seventy-five years, Presidents followed Lincoln’s precedent, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day. In 1941, Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday of each November as a national holiday.
It is believed that the English idea of giving thanks for crops had its genesis among the Jews. In Leviticus 23:15-16, God commanded the Jews to count seven full weeks (49 days), beginning on the second day of Passover. The celebration was known by different names throughout the Bible. Among them were The Feast of Weeks, The Feast of the Fiftieth Day and the Day of Pentecost – from the Greek word pentecostes, meaning fiftieth.
Even with a cursory study of the Jewish, British and American practices of thanksgiving, a few common threads seem obvious. Each celebration was in keeping with harvest festivals and acknowledged God’s faithful provision.
This year, let’s forget the turkey distraction for a while. Instead, let us focus on the value of practicing to say thanks. New research contends that practicing gratitude may be the fastest single pathway to happiness, health, long life and prosperity. In a remarkable study, people who kept a gratitude journal for just three weeks, measured 25% higher on a life satisfaction scale. Persons in the study exercised more, drank less alcohol, and their families and friends noticed that they were nicer to be around. The effects lasted for several months beyond the initial three-week study.
Results from science-based studies in positive psychology at a number of major universities, confirm the following results:
■ Practicing gratitude may help train the brain to experience improved mental health;
■ Grateful people tend to be more optimistic, a characteristic that researchers say boosts the immune system;
■ People with a greater level of gratitude tend to have stronger relationships in that they appreciate their loved ones more;
■ Grateful people sleep better and are better equipped to offer emotional support to others;
■ Gratitude can be a powerful coping mechanism for dealing with stress. When people acknowledge and appreciate the positive aspects of their lives, they may be better equipped to handle stress and adversity. This can result in increased resilience and a higher tolerance for stress.
As we celebrate this week, let us eat the turkey, but rejoice more in the value of being thankful. Paul argued in his letter to the Ephesians that a spirit of gratitude is a by-product of being controlled by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18-20). I pray that for Thanksgiving 2024, each of us will attempt to cultivate a rhythm of gratitude.
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