First Recognized Thanksgiving Celebration for the Pilgrim colonists in America:
November 1621 Why did the Pilgrims come to the colonies in America? To flee religious persecution, find a new home where they could freely practice their faith; gain prosperity and land ownership in the New World. How many colonists were on the first ship, The Mayflower? 102 passengers What groups of people attended the celebration? 53 Plymouth colonists, 90 Wampanoag Indians; Chief Massasoit What did they eat in their Thanksgiving feast? Swans, geese, duck, shellfish, lobster, pumpkin, deer, corn. When was the first national day of Thanksgiving held in the United States? In 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States; in it, he called upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country’s war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. When did Thanksgiving become an annually recognized national holiday? 1863, at the height of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that all Americans ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.” He scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November, and it was celebrated on that day every year. What was the driving force behind the selection of the current date for Thanksgiving? In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. But when met with opposition in 1941, the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November. The origin of the festival of All Saints celebrated in the West dates to 609 or 610, when Pope Boniface IV of the Roman Catholic Church consecrated the Pantheon at Rome to all martyrs. The feast associated has been celebrated in Rome ever since.
The festival was retained after the Reformation in the calendar of the Lutheran Church and now assumes a role of general commemoration of the dead and of loved ones. In many Lutheran churches, because All Saints Day follows Halloween, (All Hallows Eve; All Saints Eve), it is moved to the first Sunday of November to be recognized. Protestants generally regard all true Christian believers as saints on earth, as we are simultaneously saint/sinner. Simul iustus et peccator: It’s a Latin phrase that means, “at the same time sinner and saint.” This description of the Christian life can be used to wiggle out of lots of those “why” questions. Why did that church treasurer abscond with the money? Saints can be sinners. Why did the Sunday School teacher curse out the six year olds? Saints can be sinners. Why did we see our pastor at the pub last Friday with a third beer? (Yes, they do count.) Saints can be sinners. Yes, we are simultaneously saint/sinner each day we live in God’s grace despite our sin, but observe All Saints Day to remember and give thanks for all Christians both past and present who have been eternally sainted with Christ. We remember all saints November 1. The month of November brings with it many exciting things, including a year’s end harvest for farmers, deer hunting season, and most notably, the national holiday of Thanksgiving. Even though the holiday’s roots surrounded the religious freedom of the Pilgrims of our nation, Thanksgiving today is not associated with a specific religious observance. However, you and I know we have many things (good and bad) for which we can thank God.
Although not a holiday directly associated with the Church, we can faithfully observe the goodness that Thanksgiving first represented and give thanks to God, who has provided all that we have out of his divine goodness and mercy. In fact, one of the words for Holy Communion is the “Eucharist,” which means “thanksgiving.” It is in the Eucharist that we hear these words: Hoc est corpus meum: “This is my body.” You may be surprised that this Latin phrase, used in the ancient Roman Catholic church, is the origin of the phrase “Hocus Pocus”—which is what peasants heard when they couldn’t understand Latin, and which is what peasants thought was magically happening when bread and wine were consecrated. As we see trees lose their leaves and plants go into dormancy, take some time to see all that you have gained in this past year, and what you will gain this year ahead (and no, I’m not talking about gaining weight!). Give thanks that Christ has entered into our decaying world and is our source of daily renewal. It is this renewal - which we enjoy in baptism - that we can all look forward to when Christ returns not only in spirit, but body, to restore our world and restore our bodies to eternal life. Therefore, in this month of November, we can join those who have faithfully departed this world to be with Christ, those saints whom we remember on “All Saints Day” (Nov. 1). We can join them in our plea, “Come, Lord Jesus.” It is this plea that we will hear echoing in our lives and in the season of Advent. Thankful for you, Pastor Aaron Boerst “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1: 3-6 |
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