Tomorrow, millions of Americans will gather to share time and table together in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. Our family will have multiple gatherings in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday over the course of two days. We always enjoy being together, and we certainly have much for which we are thankful. Around this time of year, I often recall the history of the Thanksgiving holiday I learned as a youngster.
As you may recall, in September 1620, 102 passengers left Plymouth, England on a ship called the Mayflower. After sixty-six days at sea, they dropped anchor around Cape Cod. One month later they crossed Massachusetts Bay and began establishing the village known as Plymouth, Massachusetts.
The first winter on the new continent these early pilgrims still lived primarily on the Mayflower as they tried to establish life on land during a New England winter. As a result of hardship, weather, and disease, sadly only half of the passengers survived the winter to see their first spring in New England. After moving ashore into their new settlement, the pilgrims encountered some Native Americans who taught them to farm and fish in the new land.
One name that has become synonymous with this group of pilgrims was a Native American man named Squanto. Squanto, and some of the other Natives, were able to speak English. This allowed them to help the pilgrims settle in their new home and learn to farm the land where they now lived.
In November of 1621, after the pilgrims’ first corn harvest, Governor William Bradford helped to organize a celebration feast. The pilgrims hosted their native friends for a three-day celebration of the first harvest in this new land. That celebration is recognized by most Americans as the first thanksgiving celebration on this continent.
Thanksgiving was made a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln and has been a celebrated yearly tradition ever since. As a child, I remember celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday in school by making a construction paper pilgrim hat or tracing my hand on the paper to make one of those turkey decorations out of my handprint. Perhaps you remember making those as a child, or even still have the decorations your children made when they were in school. The traditions might change as we age, but the tradition of observing the Thanksgiving holiday is a part of American history and culture.
While it is worthwhile to remember and recognize our Thanksgiving holiday traditions, it is also worth mentioning that the tradition of God’s people setting aside a day for giving thanks did not begin with those pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
The original precedent for seasons of thanksgiving can be traced back much further than 1621. Over 3,500 years ago, Moses wrote the book of Leviticus, including many detailed instructions for God’s people to follow. Leviticus 19:1-2 reads, “The Lord spoke to Moses: ‘Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.’”
Holiness and holy living are the theme of Leviticus, and in chapter 23 God gives detailed instructions for holy days that would be set apart from other days on the calendar. A part of the holy living God was calling His people to observe included keeping holy days on the calendar. This instruction to keep holy days on the calendar laid the foundation for our observing holidays all these years later.
Leviticus chapter 23 details seven different appointed times the Lord instructed His people to gather together for a holy day. On these holy days, the people of God would gather for the purpose of worship, celebration, and rest.
For almost 3,000 years before the pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts shared a thanksgiving meal, pilgrims would travel to the house of God and gather together to observe these sacred assemblies and holy days. The Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread were celebrated at the time of the barley harvest. Pentecost was celebrated during the time of wheat harvest. The festivals kept and observed in the fall (Festival of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles or Booths) were around the time of the grape, fig, and olive harvest.
For God’s people, there was a time to work, and there was a time to stop working and rejoice in what God had given. These festivals and feasts were all spiritually significant in one way or another. However, what they all had in common was a time to reflect on the provision of God, and time to give thanks for His goodness and blessing.
Thanksgiving is a tradition that has been observed by the people of God for over 3,500 years. When those early pilgrims came together in November of 1621 to celebrate the harvest, they were joining the longstanding tradition of God’s people setting aside time to rest, reflect, and rejoice in what God had provided.
When we gather together this Thanksgiving holiday, we are continuing in that long standing tradition of God’s people observing a holiday, or holy day, to give God the glory for the things He has done. It is good when we gather together and give thanks! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!