Thanksgiving is one of those few national holidays when a semi-religious sentiment is allowed. It peeks through in reply to two obvious questions: Thanksgiving to whom for what?
In search of an answer, it seems appropriate to quote three notable Americans on what this observance meant to them. The three writers are Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, and George Washington.
Henry David Thoreau:
My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite–only a sense of existence. Well, anything for variety. I am ready to try this for the next 1,000 years & exhaust it….My breath is sweet to me.
Thoreau, the dean of American nature writers, is the man who spent a year living in semi-solitude in the woods near a pond and then wrote a book named for the pond–Walden. The volume stands today as one of the enduring landmarks of American letters.
As one might expect, Thoreau’s lower-cased thanksgiving quote is an expression of radical individualism. And it is fully at home with another quote from his well-known essay “Civil Disobedience” which expresses an anarchist view of government: “I heartily accept the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least;’ and I should like to see it lived up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe, ‘That government is best which governs not at all.'”
Number two is Mark Twain:
Thanksgiving Day, a function which originated in New England two or three centuries ago when those people recognized that they really had something to be thoughtful for–annually, not oftener–if they had succeeded in exterminating their neighbors, the Indians, during the previous twelve months instead of getting exterminated by their neighbors, the Indians.
Thanksgiving Day became a habit [when] it was perceived that the exterminating had ceased to be mutual and was all on the white man’s side, consequently on the Lord’s side; hence it was proper to thank the Lord for it and extend the usual compliments.
Twain is remembered for two upbeat classics, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. These are indeed lasting achievements that celebrate the joys of boyhood. But by his latter years–as represented in his Thanksgiving quote—he had become a bitter man, bankrupted by the collapse of bad investments and soon to suffer the deaths of his wife and two daughters.
And then, thank goodness, there is George Washington, who in 1789 issued the First Presidential Thanksgiving Day Proclamation in these words:
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me ‘to recommend to the people of the United States a Day of Publick Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.’
It wasn’t until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln declared a day for giving thanks in the fall, that the idea of a yearly observance caught on nationally. But never mind about Thoreau and Twain. By Lincoln’s day, George Washington had already provided us with a Thanksgiving proclamation that today, nearly two and a half centuries later, still stands as a Thank You that a nation can put its heart into.
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So, Twain was a liberal?? How disappointing. In many instances the Indians gave as good as they got regarding death and destruction. That the Whites won is only due to their superior technology, guns. Which of course the Indians eventually acquired too. I happen to admire what I know of Indian culture and feel its a sad thing that history has left them in their current situation.But the reality is that war is an awful thing, and it has winners and losers.
Bravo to George Washington, who is probably the most inspiring leader the nation ever produced.
Mark Twain could be rather cynical and biting in his comments but I don’t think he was Left wing.
I’m a big fan of George Washington also.
Squanto, curiously spoke English. This Native American, who preserved the Puritans from starvation, had actually crossed the Atlantic numerous times and lived in Europe for ten or twelve years. He was rescued from his captors by Franciscan monks but while in Spain was converted to Christianity. This Catholic was the man who took pity on the Protestant Pilgrims, half of whom died during their first winter in the New World.
The first Thanksgiving in the New World was the first Mass said at St. Augustine, in later Florida, in 1565, fifty-five years before the Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock.
I don’t know if they had a Thanksgiving or not but I read today that an archeologist has found the location of Coronado’s 1539 settlement, San Geranimo in what’s now southern Arizona. They surely would have celebrated Mass there.
The archeologist discovered a small cannon on the site, perhaps the first one in what’s now the USA.
This few words you say are very very important: Squanto, Catholic, pity on & St. Augustine (Florida). Few times can be read more information with deep sense in less. Congratulations. Hoping that others will understand the full meaning behind it all.
Distantly related in respect to a day, notwithstanding Thoreau but not to the immense benefit for the person during a bleak day in Church and world, is the advice of Dr Ray Guarendi, that thanksgiving for all that God has given us best remedies depression.
Amen, Father Peter
🙏
I am reminded of the cartoon, which shows two native Americans standing at Plymouth Rock, watching the Mayflower. One says to the other: “Relax. They’ll just do jobs that our people don’t want to do.”
Simple gratitude is the best, the type Jesus was disappointed in not receiving after cleansing the 10 lepers:
(English standard per internet):
Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers
11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,[a] who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”[b
I am a convert to Catholicism who–I say this with fear and trembling–doesn’t really enjoy or appreciate reading about the lives of many of the saints. I do honor and venerate them. That being said, I am attempting to read all the works of Mark Twain, because I consider his book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one of the best books, if not the BEST book, ever written by an American. So I came across Personal Reflections of Joan of Arc by the Sieur Louis de Conte–written by Mark Twain. Yes, Mark Twain took a trip to Europe and when in France, was fascinated by Joan of Arc, so he did a lot of research and wrote this book which tells her story. I have tried to read other stories of saints and yawned through them, if I even finished them. But this book, which is written in a way that shows great respect, is a page-turner and tells with great reverence–no hidden sarcasm that I could detect–the story of Joan of Arc’s life. I highly recommend it, although I think it’s rather advanced for children, although a young teen might enjoy reading it.