Celebrating Thanksgiving is more than turkeys and Macy's (or perhaps, Walmart)

On September 6, 1620, the English Pilgrims left Plymouth, England to seek both civil and religious liberty in the New World. The 102 brave passengers traveled for more than two months across the perilous sea until their faith in the Almighty ushered them into the land of the free, their New England. Arriving in the shores of Massachusetts in late November of that same year, the started their own colony. Finally establishing a rough community of believers on quick shelters and the harsh exposure to the coming winter, the Pilgrims struggled to keep half of the number of their family members and community. In constant prayer and with steadfast faith and solid fortitude, they painstakingly tilled the ground. With the help of the local natives, they were reaped a bountiful harvest the summer that followed. 

Grateful for the divine guidance and bountiful influx of blessings, the Pilgrims celebrated a three-day feast that started on December 13, 1621, which marked America's first Thanksgiving festival. Thanksgiving services, though were believed to have started as early as 1565 in Florida and been held in Virginia as early as 1607. Considered as a harvest festival, the Pilgrims celebrated the bounty with their native friends. The festival, which started on a Thursday, ended in three days, and gave the Pilgrims the following day, Sunday, a time for worship.

Under a new constitution, America celebrated its first Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, following a proclamation by President George Washington. The annual national Thanksgiving Day came about when Godey's Lady's Book editor Mrs. Sarah Joseph Hale consistently suggested to the American presidency a national day of Thanksgiving. Finally, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed in 1863 the last Thursday of November as a national Thanksgiving Day. Ultimately, in 1941, Congress established the fourth Thursday of November as a national holiday. 

At present, Thanksgiving is considered the biggest celebration in the country.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving each year, we hope we retain the original gratefulness to God displayed by the Pilgrims, and remember that it is to those early Pilgrims that we owe not only the traditional Thanksgiving holiday but also the concepts of courage and gratefulness to the God who brought us in to the rightful place that we dreamed and hoped to be.