My smile nearly split my lips this morning as I encountered a preschool student wearing his Pilgrim Hat in preparation for the annual Thanksgiving Feast. All the preschool children decked out as pilgrims, Native Americans, and turkeys speaks volumes about the role education plays in sustaining our cherished national holidays. Through these school celebrations, our young children learn important lessons about our history, culture, and national character.
The event of the original Thanksgiving dates back to the early sixteen hundreds when some of the first immigrants to the new world offered thanks for the blessings they had received despite many hardships. The fact that they shared their feast with others of a different culture serves as a wonderful example of how people of diverse backgrounds should reach out to each other in friendship.
Thanksgiving was again declared by the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War. This declaration of thanksgiving served as a testament to the blessings of a free people and the promise of an emerging nation. A nation founded on the truth that all men are created equal.
President Abraham Lincoln found it necessary to call for a national day of thanksgiving during the Civil War at a time when the war was turning in favor of the Union Army. Lincoln was a magnanimous leader who understood the power of humility and grace.
Throughout our history there have been many times when our country could give thanks for the blessings bestowed upon this great nation. Over the years, the United States has become a marvelous tapestry of people from all corners of the earth. We have proven that in diversity there is indeed strength. We demonstrate to the world each and every day that people of diversity can live as one in a land of opportunity.
We are the bastion of freedom and liberty. We are the United States.
This Thanksgiving, may you, your family, and friends gather together to remember and give thanks for the rich and precious heritage that makes up the United States. Give thanks that we are a country always striving to live up to the promise of a better life for all. This is a blessed time of year. Happy Thanksgiving!
~ Bill
