Thanksgiving as a holiday is primarily observed in the United States and Canada, although it is celebrated in a dozen or more countries, including Brazil and Liberia.
Even though there is a dispute as to when the “first thanksgiving” was celebrated by European emigrants on American soil, Thanksgiving is generally modeled after that of the Plymouth Colony of Massachusetts in 1621.
Two years later, in 1623, the colonists would again proclaim a day of thanksgiving to celebrate the end of a long drought. In the years to come, special days of thanksgiving would be observed in the American colonies from time to time.
In the turmoil of the War of Independence, a Thanksgiving proclamation was made by the Second Continental Congress in 1777. President George Washington proclaimed a designated national day of thanksgiving in 1789. Future Presidents would individually declare national days of thanksgiving, as would individual states. In 1863 while embroiled in the divisive and destructive Civil War, Abraham Lincoln called for Thanksgiving to be an annual national holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.
Living in Difficult Days
The days of 2020 continue to be very difficult, but, as previously noted, we are not the first to be called to observe Thanksgiving in hard, challenging, and testing times.
Regardless of its origin, Thanksgiving remains an important time for us as we reflect upon all the things we are thankful for. It is a time to look forward in hope. The story of those whom we now call Pilgrims and their model of giving thanks can help us.
The Thanksgiving of 1621
In 1620 a group of religious separatists sold their possessions to help pay for a trip across the Atlantic Ocean. Joined by another party of travelers, a total of 102 men, women, and children sailed on the Mayflower for 66 days.
They encountered problem after problem. Blown off course by storms, they missed their desired port, and on November 11, 1620, they landed in Massachusetts rather than Virginia. By the time they found a place to erect homes, winter had set in. Because of brutal storms, inadequate shelter, and little food, half of the men perished. Fourteen of eighteen wives died, leaving orphans and widowers.
Spring eventually brought hope and relief. The nearby Native Americans greatly aided in their survival. Receiving help from English-speaking Tisquantum (Squanto) and the people of the Wampanoag tribe, they learned to grow corn, hunt deer, and catch fish.
In the fall of 1621, they gathered their first successful harvest. Governor Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to God. The details are few, but we know that for three days, possibly in mid-September, they celebrated with 90 Native Americans from the Wampanoag tribe and offered thanksgiving to God.
What can we learn from the Pilgrims’ story?
Things have changed since 53 European emigrants and 90 Native Americans celebrated thanks for a harvest. But the story of these troubled settlers and their thanksgiving offers insights and lessons that can guide us on our journey.
1. Giving thanks brings God glory.
God is still receiving glory from the story of the Pilgrim’s thanksgiving.
Both the Old and New Testaments call God’s people to thankfulness. God does not need for us to give Him anything, but He does call for us to give thanks to Him, which results in His glory.
I don’t need the bulls you sacrifice; I don’t need the blood of goats. What I want instead is your true thanks to God; I want you to fulfill your vows to the Most High. Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
Psalm 50:13-15 (NLT)
2. Giving thanks in difficult times is possible.
Our holiday of Thanksgiving originated in and has been cultivated through times of difficulty and struggle. Thanksgiving turns our gaze from ourselves and our troubles and we see the hand of God. It changes our outlook and keeps us moving forward with hope for tomorrow. We are reminded that we are pilgrims and that the Christian life is a journey of faith.
3. We are reminded that our troubles are momentary.
Our reward is massively disproportionate to our difficulties, therefore be thankful. Our troubles now are transforming us into the image of Christ. They are momentary and passing relatively quickly, compared to eternity.
4. Thanksgiving plants our feet on the solid ground.
In a world of shifting sand, we choose to trust Him with our circumstances instead of sinking in our own strength.
5. Thanksgiving draws others into God’s grace.
Because God’s grace sustains us in times of peril and trouble, and we can live thankful lives.
Thanksgiving is missional because this grace is not only for us. It is to be shared with others so that they too may know Christ. When the pilgrims paused for thanksgiving, it opened the door for them to involve their Native American neighbors. Paul writes,
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
Then Paul points us away from ourselves and to our mission in verse 15, All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 4:15 NIV)
Genuine thanksgiving does not refuse to acknowledge trouble, or death, or suffering or loss. It is an intentional choice to turn our eyes to our great God. It is an opportunity to point others to the grace of Christ.
Let’s go forward in thanksgiving, filled with hope, that more and more people will know Christ, and God will be glorified.