Is the year 2020 Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America (USA) unique in celebration?
Is there any difference between the “First Thanksgiving Day in 1621,” a festivity held before the American Revolutionary War, and a day of first “Thanksgiving and Prayer in 1789,” celebrated soon after the American Independence?
Or, why is there a difference between the “First Thanksgiving Day (i.e., 1621),” celebrated before the American Revolutionary War, and a “Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens,” celebrated in 1863 during the civil war?
Who are the primary beneficiaries of Thanksgiving Day in the USA?
Did the “Pilgrims’ Faith” lay the foundations for the Thanksgiving Days’ celebration, and a New Nation almost 400 years ago?
Do you ever ponder over the Thanksgiving Day celebration in the USA, as an immigrant, a naturalized, or born citizen?
“Yes, I do!”
Since 1988, once in a year during the 4th week of November, I ask myself why Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the USA?
Moreover, I noticed each Thanksgiving Day is peculiar and personal in every family and its members, and guests in the USA, especially for an individual who celebrated it for the first time.
I know for others there is a mixed reaction due to losing a loved one during the holiday season!
In September 1988, Fall semester, a crowded campus with both undergraduate and graduate students at Eastern College, now also known as (a.k.a.) University, in St. David’s, Pennsylvania. One of the scenic beauty campuses with fish and ducks in the ponds encircled by trees in the suburb section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
As an International student for the first time in the USA, after moving into the on-campus dormitory in the first week of September 1988. I registered for the required graduate courses.
Prior to registering for an International Marketing graduate course, I needed to complete the cultural anthropology prerequisite (101) subject. To know more about the Native American Indian communities, I chose a course related to their history.
To complete a term paper, I researched in the library on the Native American culture and understood their communities or tribes to some extent. During this study, I first came across the feast held in the autumn of 1621 by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag tribe celebrated their first successful harvest.
Moreover, I had to study both micro and macroeconomics subjects as part of my graduate course. During this class, the first time I heard and came to know about “Reaganomics.” President Ronald Reagan’s economic policies of the Federal Government were set by Congress and the President in the USA, and the information was required for my macroeconomic class.
During my first Fall semester, in the campus the leaves on trees changed its colors, and for the first time, I sensed an autumn season in the USA, and overheard the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday celebration on the campus.
As one of the International curious students, I wanted to know various subject matters, including Reaganomics. Therefore, I read published articles related to Reaganomics, and the first time I came across a “Thanksgiving Proclamation” by Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the USA.
I wondered how the “First Thanksgiving Day in 1621,” the Pilgrims and Native Americans who celebrated the harvest feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts became the Thanksgiving Day and a National holiday?
I pondered on President Ronald Regan’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, especially his last statement soon after Psalm 105:1; he stated that “Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 24, 1988, as a National Day of Thanksgiving, and I call upon the citizens of this great Nation to gather together in homes and places of worship on that day of thanks to affirm by their prayers and their gratitude the many blessings God has bestowed upon us.”
Thursday, November 24, 1988, a tranquil campus since most students left for the Thanksgiving holiday celebration. A lonely feeling stole over me, and I surveyed my surrounding area on the campus and spotted no single bird’s chirping sound in the leafless autumn trees.
Suddenly, I felt homesick as we expected our first child’s birth scheduled during the same month in India. Due to my studies in the USA, a short term separation from my pregnant wife Nalini in India, I used to be on an emotional roller coaster every day!
As I strolled around the campus alone, one of my older brothers Rev. Charles Mark, came from New Jersey and picked me for the Thanksgiving celebration at our oldest brother Dr. Samuel Mark’s residence in New York State with his family, and my father-in-law Rev. Solomon Sabana who had come at that time from India to attend a meeting in the USA.
On Thursday, November 24, 1988, as I celebrated my first Thanksgiving Day along with my brothers, sister Deena’s family, and father-in-law in the USA, I received a long-distance phone call from India from our family members with a good news about our first child, son Jesse’s birth.
Since then, “Thanksgiving and Prayer” has become a tradition in our family in the USA to celebrate this special day, as a family with our brothers, sisters, friends, visitors and strangers, respectively.
Thanksgiving Day in the year 2020 is my 32nd celebration in the USA. Since 1988, I can still recollect the details of each Thanksgiving Day. However, I know, the year 2020 Thanksgiving Day is unique in the USA’s historical traditional celebration.
No doubt, the main reason for this is the “coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In my opinion, COVID-19 is the “Acts of Men” rather than the “Acts of God.” In my two parts blog post published with the same title provides the details as to why I think so!
Besides, I stated in another blog post titled “Can A Divided House Stand?” In which, I provided the reasons as to why the US Congress and country divided?
Yes, in my opinion, Thanksgiving Day in the year 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis (i.e., “Acts of Men”) coupled with the external influences and forces tarnished the traditional American festivities, including the democratic system of government.
When we think of the “First Thanksgiving Day,” the Pilgrims, known as the Puritans who fled England in the 17th-century because of religious persecution. And when read their history, it makes to think about how they arrived, settled, and survived in America those days.
History reminds us that almost 400 years ago, on November 9, 1620, Pilgrims, after facing miserable conditions for 65 days crossing the Atlantic Ocean, finally sighted land. At that moment, William Brewster led them in reading Psalm 100 as a “prayer of thanksgiving.”
Based upon the Pilgrims and American history, it appears to me that the “First Thanksgiving Day” started on November 9, 1620, in the Mayflower ship when they sighted land and offered a prayer of thanking by reading Psalm 100.
American history also reminds us that our Founding Fathers were the children of Puritans. Because of their upbringing in Puritan families, our Founding Fathers kept their faith in the God of the Bible and founded this New Nation, known as the “United States of America,” based on those principles.
For example, the first President and father of our Nation, George Washington, declared Thursday, November 26, 1789, as a National day of “thanksgiving and prayer.”
Why is the year 2020 Thanksgiving Day unique in celebration?
Precisely 231 years ago, soon after the American Independence (1775-1776), the first “Thanksgiving Day” celebrated on Thursday, November 26, 1789, which falls on the same date as of the year 2020 Thanksgiving Day, Which is Thursday, November 26, 2020.
Do we see or observe any difference in this Thanksgiving Day (i.e., the year 2020) as compared to the one celebrated soon after the American Independence (1789) with “Thanksgiving and Prayer?”
Yes, I do!
In 1789, both the first Federal Congress (i.e., Legislative branch) and the President (i.e., Executive branch), and the citizens of a new Nation were all united.
Unfortunately, in the year 2020, not only the United States Congress and President, but citizens of the country are also divided!
When we read the first President’s “Thanksgiving Proclamation” and the first Congress’ (1789) joint Committee statements related to the “Prayer and Thanksgiving,” it makes one wonder as to what happened to the United States in the 21st century?
It is a known fact that the Federal Congress, President George Washington, and his cabinet members grew up in a family where prayer and thanksgiving were not only taught, but also practiced by their parents. As a result, as soon as they founded a new Nation, they believed and initiated a prayer and thanksgiving celebration for the new Nation.
Therefore, the first Federal Congress or joint Committee on September 28, 1789, passed a resolution recommending President George Washington to declare the Nation a day of “Thanksgiving and prayer.”
“Wow, that’s incredible!”
I said to myself, when I read President George Washington’s “Thanksgiving Proclamation” a few times.
I am sure whoever reads this document will be reminded of his bravery, leadership, and faith in God as a successful American Revolutionary War Commander-in-Chief, and the first President of the United States.
I got goosebumps when I read this document for the first time!
In his Thanksgiving Proclamation, President George Washington stated that “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
As the Puritans’ children, the first Federal Congress, and President George Washington understood the real meaning of “Thanksgiving” because their parents and grandparents, after going through every hardship in their lives, realized and believed in God of the Bible, and His blessings and guidance.
History reminds us that in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War, George Washington, as a Commander-in-Chief, while en-route to Valley Forge with his army, stopped in freezing weather to observe the “Thanksgiving,” which is before the independence and his declaration Thursday, November 26, 1789, as a National day of “thanksgiving and prayer” as the first President.
This indicates that our first Commander-In-Chief of the American Revolutionary War and President, George Washington believed in God of the Bible and observed prayer and Thanksgiving in his life taught by his parents and grandparents.
After 74 years of the first declaration (i.e., November 26, 1789), as a National day of “thanksgiving and prayer” by the first President George Washington, another President and Commander-In-Chief, Abraham Lincoln in 1863, during the civil war, declared the last Thursday of November as a “Day of Thanksgiving and Praise,” and also as an official Federal holiday.
As a result, for the last 157 years, Americans enjoyed this Federal holiday.
Again why is 2020 Thanksgiving Day unique in nature?
In 1863, during the civil war, the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, declared the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day in his Thanksgiving Proclamation.
However, in 1941, President Roosevelt established the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
As you may know, Thanksgiving Day in 2020 fell last Thursday, on November 26, 2020.
When we read President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation declared during the civil war, one’s emotions can spiral through him or her because of the war!
For instance, in the fourth paragraph of his Thanksgiving Proclamation, he stated, “No human counsel has devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”
How and who can forget President Abraham Lincoln? As a President and Commander-In-Chief, he fought the American civil war and abolished slavery by issuing the “Emancipation Proclamation.”
As we know, President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for the permanent abolition of slavery in the United States of America.
If we pause and reflect on both the “First Thanksgiving Day in 1621,” before American Independence, and “Thanksgiving Day in 1789,” after the American Independence celebration, it will make one think much more in-depth about this so-called “New World.”
For example, the Pilgrims who were English people and their leadership came from the religious congregations known as Separatist or Puritans. They believed that their membership in the Church of England violated Biblical principles. As a result, in the 17th century, they were persecuted and emigrated to America 400 years ago (i.e.,1620).
As I stated above, before reaching the ocean shores in America, the Pilgrims sighted land while they were in the Mayflower ship, and at that moment, they read Psalm 100 and offered “thanksgiving prayer.”
As we know, in 1621, the Pilgrims, after their first harvest in the New World, celebrated the “First Thanksgiving.” This is before the Revolutionary War and American Independence.
Imagine their hardship in a strange place where there was no freedom to live and survive. However, they developed friendship with the Native Americans and celebrated Thanksgiving, and the rest is the history of America for us to read and understand.
On the contrary, since 1863, despite the permanent slavery abolition, and Federal holiday declared by none other than President Abraham Lincoln, most Americans in 2020 are still in poverty, especially in the large and small American cities.
Don’t you think the year 2020 Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America (USA) is unique in celebration?
Don’t you think we are faced with another civil war within our Nation?
Why the General Election in 2020 is at stake?
Don’t you think and realize the truth of that old saying: “Poverty is the root of all evils.”
Yes, as we know poverty breeds strife!
Is it possible to surrender “liberty” through fear of poverty?
For instance, on September 19, 2020, despite my coworkers’ advise not to go due to unsafe and dangerous conditions in the city, I drove alone to Selma city in Dallas County, Alabama, from Montgomery, Alabama. I took the same historic route of March 21, 1965, “Voting Rights March.”
No doubt, a risky decision on my part due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis coupled with riots triggered by the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
However, since I am in the Black Belt region of Alabama, and reminded by the historical events, such as “Bloody Sunday,” Edmund Pettus Bridge Cross, and the Selma to Montgomery Marches, I wanted to visit these sites before the General Election in 2020.
“Aww, that’s too bad!” I said to myself as I drove through Selma city’s street in disbelief!
Yes, today, if anyone drives through the city can see the ugliness of poverty. On the city’s outskirts, I saw mobile homes clusters and crumbled shotgun houses along unpaved roads.
I gasped in surprise at the sight of boarded-up homes tagged with all kinds of symbols, empty lots littered with bottles, empty and torn down factories, and the ugliness of poverty. The city looked like a ghost town to me, and I felt like the entire population deserted the city!
Devastated and shocked beyond my belief when I drove in the downtown business area and watched through the car windows of boarded up or broken stores, hotels, fast food chains, and business offices. Nothing, but it appeared to be a devastated city by poverty!
When I reached the Edmund Pettus Bridge’s dramatic iron crest over the Alabama River from the north, the time dropped me back into the American civil rights movement year.
As soon as I crossed the bridge and approached city boundaries on the south edge of the bridge, I took a glance over the river and reflected on the attack on voting rights protesters in 1965 known as the “Bloody Sunday!”
I was shocked as I gazed out my car windshield at the National Voting Rights Museum and the surrounding area. I sensed the deserted place filled with a deathly silence.
I wheeled around and drove across the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute building to the “Civil Rights Memorial Park.”
While parked in front of the Memorial Park, I stared wide-eyed at the monuments, dumbfounded! I shook my head and hunched over the steering wheel, and surveyed the park with horror! I sensed danger!
Did I wonder as to why today no visitor like me at this park? Am I the only one who came all the way to see this place? I asked myself!
“Fear is often greater than the danger!” I shrugged and uttered. I jerked open my car door and got out with my cell phone, and strode straight towards monuments.
As I strode, my glance roved four erected monuments in the park. I spotted “Builders of Movements and Monuments” on my left, Reverend Hosea Williams. Sr., from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and Representative John Lewis from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the middle, and Amelia Boynton Robinson and Marie Foster from the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL) on my right, respectively.
I stared at and read each written content of the monument, which stated ‘The Selma-Montgomery March’ “Bloody Sunday March 7, 1965,” and reflected on the fight to secure voting rights for African Americans and other minorities across the country.
I stood there for a few minutes in silence and pondered as to why we see the ugliness of poverty, joblessness, and drugs in modern-day Selma? Why does the city that symbolized a beacon for civil rights, and today look like a neglected and devastated place in 55 years?
Why don’t well-known politicians, movie and sports celebrities, business leaders who visit Selma city once a year in March and cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge for photo-ops, improve the area?
Why is despite African-American two terms President Barack Obama, who commemorated the 50th anniversary, Selma city is still devastated by poetry, boarded-up homes, and drugs?
I paused and fazed by the fact of my unanswered questions!
Did I wonder why after 157 years of slavery abolition in America, most of the cities and small towns are still not improved, when most of the undeveloped countries now developed in less than half a century?
In 1988, during my graduate program, most of my professors who taught me economics, finance, marketing, accounting, statistics, organizational behavior, etc., classes used the phrase “Third World Countries” for developing countries, including India.
“Did God create another world as the 3rd World?” I asked this question several times myself, and questioned my professors on this subject, and discussed it in the classes.
As we know, in just over a quarter of a century, most of these undeveloped countries have developed, including China, India, and several other nations. As a result, in the 21st century, we don’t read or hear the phrase “Third World Countries” anymore. Now that phrase is replaced by an “under developing countries.”
Is Thursday, November 26, 2020, a Thanksgiving, or a Prayerful Day? I asked myself.
If you notice, in recent years the initial phrase of “thanksgiving and prayer,” which our first President George Washington declared, and even our 16th President Abraham Lincoln, who declared during the civil war as a “Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens” is being separated in the secular world, and replaced with just” Thanksgiving Day.”
As we can see the way the Pilgrims and their children and grandchildren, who fought the American Revolutionary War, and the civil war, understood, believed, and observed the meaning of “thanksgiving, and prayer.”
On the contrary, we see how our generation in the 21st century, who fight other country’s wars, understood and observed the meaning of “Thanksgiving Day” celebrated is only God knows!
In my observations, the Pilgrims, Puritans, Presidents, and Prayer played a key role in American history. Had it not been for the Pilgrims or Puritans and their sacrifice for this country, I don’t think today there would be no United States of America or the free world.
As an immigrant and naturalized citizen, I admire and thank President Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery in America, and because of him, people like me able to obtain religious and economic freedom. As a result, we can celebrate the Thanksgiving Day in America.
Yes, like many, our family and members are the beneficiaries of Thanksgiving Day in the USA! Had it not for the “Pilgrims” and the “First Thanksgiving,” I don’t think not only this “New World,” or the United States of America, today none of us would be in this country.
Moreover, the Pilgrims and their children founded this great Nation and helped other countries in various aspects of basic human needs, including education.
Therefore, on this day, let it be our humble, thankful prayer to God Almighty for providing us the great leaders like the Pilgrims, Puritans, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, through whom He built this Nation. Without their leadership services, we would not be celebrating the Thanksgiving Day!
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