DOCSLIB.ORG

The Parish Post

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Parish Post n THE FIRST CHURCH IN WEYMOUTH firstchurchweymouth.webs.com THE PARISH POST November 2020 Newsletter Rev. John Robie, Interim Minister Lisa Snow, Secretary The Pastors Corner November 2020 Dear Members and Friends of The First Church in Weymouth, November brings around a renewed spirit of gratitude which is enlivened by the anticipation of Thanksgiving Day. According to Encyclopedia Britannica’s contributor, David Silverman1, its origin and metamorphosis are as follows: Plymouth’s Thanksgiving began with a few colonists going out “fowling,” possibly for turkeys but more probably for the easier prey of geese and ducks, since they “in one day killed as much as…served the company almost a week.” Next, 90 or so Wampanoag made a surprise appearance at the settlement’s gate, doubtlessly unnerving the 50 or so colonists. Nevertheless, over the next few days the two groups socialized without incident. The Wampanoag contributed venison to the feast, which included the fowl and probably fish, eels, shellfish, stews, vegetables, and beer. Since Plymouth had few buildings and manufactured goods, most people ate outside while sitting on the ground or on barrels with plates on their laps. The men fired guns, ran races, and drank liquor, struggling to speak in broken English and Wampanoag. This was a rather disorderly affair, but it sealed a treaty between the two groups that lasted until King Philip’s War (1675–76), in which hundreds of colonists and thousands of Native Americans lost their lives. The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “Thanksgivings,” days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. The U.S. Continental Congress proclaimed a national Thanksgiving upon the enactment of the Constitution, for example. Yet, after 1798, the new U.S. Congress left Thanksgiving declarations to the states; some objected to the national government’s involvement in a religious observance, Southerners were slow to adopt a New England custom, and others took offense over the day’s being used to hold partisan speeches and parades. A national Thanksgiving Day seemed more like a lightning rod for controversy than a unifying force. Thanksgiving Day did not become an official holiday until Northerners dominated the federal government. While sectional tensions prevailed in the mid-19th century, the editor of the popular magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book, Sarah Josepha Hale, campaigned for a national Thanksgiving Day to promote unity. She finally won the support of President Abraham Lincoln. On October 3, 1863, during the Civil War, Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. The holiday was annually proclaimed by every president thereafter, and the date chosen, with few exceptions, was the last Thursday in November. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, however, attempted to extend the Christmas shopping season, which generally begins with the Thanksgiving holiday, and to boost the economy by moving the date back a week, to the third week in November. But not all states complied, and, after a joint resolution of Congress in 1941, 1 https://www.britannica.com/contributor/David-J-Silverman/5890 Roosevelt issued a proclamation in 1942 designating the fourth Thursday in November (which is not always the last Thursday) as Thanksgiving Day. As the country became more urban and family members began to live farther apart, Thanksgiving became a time to gather together. The holiday moved away from its religious roots to allow immigrants of every background to participate in a common tradition. Thanksgiving Day football games, beginning with Yale versus Princeton in 1876, enabled fans to add some rowdiness to the holiday. In the late 1800s parades of costumed revelers became common. In 1920 Gimbel’s department store in Philadelphia staged a parade of about 50 people with Santa Claus at the rear of the procession. Since 1924 the annual Macy’s parade in New York City has continued the tradition, with huge balloons since 1927. The holiday associated with Pilgrims and Native Americans has come to symbolize intercultural peace, America’s opportunity for newcomers, and the sanctity of home and family. Days of thanksgiving in Canada also originated in the colonial period, arising from the same European traditions, in gratitude for safe journeys, peace, and bountiful harvests. The earliest celebration was held in 1578, when an expedition led by Martin Frobisher held a ceremony in present-day Nunavut to give thanks for the safety of its fleet. In 1879 Parliament established a national Thanksgiving Day on November 6; the date has varied over the years. Since 1957 Thanksgiving Day has been celebrated in Canada on the second Monday in October. Let us unite to prayerfully reflect on the “hard times” and “losses” associated with the first settlers’ seeking God’s Divine providence as the main course of their celebration of peace and gratitude in their new world. Let us unite in prayer to seek the same in kind for where we are now in this new world. “the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the LORD.” Jeremiah 3:11 May God hear our prayers of thanksgiving even during this exceptionally challenging time. May He guide us with His peace, mercy, grace and love to support our longing to be with our families and friends. May God reach out with tenderness in response to our supplications. We know and understand our God will never abandon His flock. May we be forever held together by God’s sublime chord of unconditional love. Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Amen. May the peace of Christ be with you, Pastor John Join Us in Celebrating The First Church in Weymouth’s Thanksgiving Benevolence Fair This November we would be preparing for and celebrating our Annual Fair. Typically, we have the fair during the day followed by a dinner and then a raffle of generous baskets and gift bags in the evening. This year is different. However, you can still provide the enthusiasm and excitement of fulfilling the Fair’s intended purpose. We will be devoid of the many personal hours committed to the preparation and set-up along with the joy of coming together in unity to accomplish a much relied upon fundraising effort to support the vitality and missions of The First Church in Weymouth. In an effort to “keep it going” we are offering a similar but different approach that will provide an opportunity to participate in the fair and to maintain our benevolent approach . This year less will be more. Less time in preparation and more thought to your role in the overall outcome of the fair. A Thanksgiving Benevolence Fair! To begin, reflect on your level of participation during the fair. We all support it with our time, talent, energy and monetary contributions. This year continues to have its challenges of gathering in familiar ways and our energies have been allocated towards managing some sense of normalcy. To date we have managed to adapt in a safe and thoughtful way. Please take a moment to consider your role in previous years. What amount of money would you have spent preparing for or shopping at the Fair? What amount of time and energy would you have devoted to preparing or working at the Fair? How much has the Fair meant to you in terms of fellowship and fun? How much did your family and friends enjoy going to the Fair? This is not an easy amount to calculate as your investment of time and energy, your joy and your sacrifice, and above all, your dedication in support the fair is priceless. The truth is, that amount would be too large to expect as a donation. Our mutual goal is to maintain the integrity of the Fair. We ask that you thoughtfully and carefully consider a dollar amount that best reflects your participation from previous years. Even though our fair will be a contactless one, it can unite in its purpose just the same. Sound fair? The history of The First Church in Weymouth supports an abundance of faith and trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and a God who supplies in times of want and in times of plenty. “And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11 NIV Gifts may be included in your offering or mailed to the Church in the enclosed self-addressed, postage paid envelopes. Please write “Fair 2020” on your check, so we can report our success! November Church Council Update The Church Council hopes that everyone continues to stay safe and healthy during this unprecedented time! We held our first in person Church Council meeting on October 13, 2020, since February. We held a total of seven Zoom Church Council meetings and are hoping to now be able to get back to meeting in person. We continue to be blessed with the active involvement of our Church members. It was great to see the turnout at our outdoor Church and Fall Annual Meeting on October 4th! We appreciate everyone's cooperation in maintaining our common safety by social distancing as we worship.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Countherhistory Barbara Joan Zeitz, M.A. November 2017 Sarah's
    CountHerhistory Barbara Joan Zeitz, M.A. November 2017 Sarah’s Thanksgiving Holiday The first proclamation for a day of thanksgiving was issued by George Washington in 1789 calling upon all Americans to express their gratitude for the successful conclusion to the war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. John Adams and James Madison designated days of thanks during their presidencies and days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states in varying ways, on varying days the next thirty-eight years, until a woman came along. Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879) magazine mogul of her day who has been likened to "Anna Wintour of our day,” was a poet, author, editor, literally the first female to edit a magazine. In the mid-nineteenth century, Hale was one of the most influential women in America and shaped most of the personal attitudes and thoughts held by women. Not only a publicist for women’s education, women’s property rights and professions for women, Hale advocated for early childhood education, public health laws and other progressive community-minded causes. She was an expert of aesthetic judgment in fashion, literature, architecture, and civic policies. Progressive causes such as creating a national holiday to celebrate thanksgiving between Native Americans and immigrant Pilgrims, came natural to Hale. She founded the Seaman’s Aid Society in 1833 to assist the surviving families of Boston sailors who died at sea. And in 1851 founded the Ladies’ Medical Missionary Society of Philadelphia, which fought for a woman’s right to travel abroad as a medical missionary without the accompaniment of a man.
    [Show full text]
  • CINCINNATI PATRIOT Newsletter of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Ohio Society, Sons of the American Revolution Volume Number 23 Issue Number 4 October 2009
    CINCINNATI PATRIOT Newsletter of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Ohio Society, Sons of the American Revolution Volume Number 23 Issue Number 4 October 2009 President: James D. Schaffer Editor: Charles G. Edwards 8283 White Hill Lane 5758 Fourson Dr. West Chester, OH 45069 Cincinnati, OH 45233-4721 Telephone: (513) 777-9557 Telephone: (513) 451-5468 E-Mail: [email protected] E-Mail: [email protected] ************************************************************************ IMPORTANT CHANGE OF BOARD OF MANAGEMENT MEETING The Board of Management Meeting will be at 6:15 PM at the Golden Corral, 5325 Ridge Road, Cincinnati, Ohio. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanksgiving Day, official public holiday in the U.S., initially celebrated in early regal times in New England. The real source, though, is perhaps the harvest festivals that are customary in a lot of parts of the world Festivals and Feasts. After the first harvest was finished by the Plymouth colonists in 1621, Governor William Bradford announced a day of thanksgiving and prayer, shared by all the colonists and nearby Native Americans. The Pilgrims of Plymouth Rock held their Thanksgiving in 1621 as a three day "thank you" festivity to the leaders of the Wampanoag Indian tribe and their families for coaching them the survival talent they desired to make it in the New World. It was their good luck that the custom of the Wampanoag’s was to treat any guest to their homes with a share of whatsoever foodstuff the folks had, even if provisions were short. It was also a remarkable stroke of luck that one of the Wampanoag, Tisquantum or Squanto, had turn out to be close friends with a British explorer, John Weymouth, and had learned the Pilgrim's words in his travels to England with Weymouth.
    [Show full text]
  • Thanksgiving in the Time of Lincoln Lesson Overview
    Thanksgiving in the time of Lincoln Lesson Overview Overview: The lesson examines the origins of the American Thanksgiving holiday through primary sources. Grade Range: 3-5 Objective: After completing this lesson, students will be able to: 1. Appreciate the value of primary sources in enlightening events in the history of our country. 2. Explain the creation of the nation-wide celebration of Thanksgiving in the United States. 3. Summarize and share facts from primary source documents. 4. Respond personally to the history of Thanksgiving by writing a letter to be shared with family and friends on Thanksgiving. Time Required: Two class periods of 50 minutes. Discipline/Subject: Social Studies, Reading, Writing, Technology Topic/Subject: Presidents Era: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877 Standards Illinois Learning Standards: Language Arts: 1-Read with understanding and fluency. 1.A-Apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to comprehend selections. 1.B-Apply reading strategies to improve understanding and fluency. 1.C-Comprehend a broad range of reading materials. 2-Read and understand literature representative of various societies, eras and ideas. 2.A-Understand how literary elements and techniques are used to convey meaning. 2.B-Read and interpret a variety of literary works. 3-Write to communicate for a variety of purposes. 3.A-Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and structure. 3.B-Compose well-organized and coherent writing for specific purposes and audiences. 3.C-Communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety of purposes. 4-List and speak effectively in a variety of situations. 4.A-Listen effectively in formal and information situations.
    [Show full text]
  • Children and Food
    VOLUMEVOLUME XVI, XXIII, NUMBER NUMBER 4 1 FALL WINTER 2000 2007 Quarterly Publication of the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor Children and Food Cover of a 1945 promotional booklet from the Corn Products Company, makers of Karo corn syrup Longone Center for American Culinary Research (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan) REPAST VOLUME XXIII, NUMBER 1 WINTER 2007 (www.newworldtea.com) in 2004. Tea proper is made FALL PROGRAMS EXPLORE from the leaves or buds of a plant indigenous to China and India. The speakers reviewed the global history of ICONS IN AMERICAN, ASIAN, tea, starting with its earliest use as a medicinal tonic made from wild tea leaves (tea was not cultivated until the 3rd AND RGENTINE OOD Century CE in China). They passed around an example of A F a finely crafted Asian baked brick of tea leaves, of the type used as currency in Silk Road trade with the Turks The first Culinary Historians meeting of the Fall was beginning before 476. The Tang Dynasty (618-906) was held on Sept. 17 at the University of Michigan’s Clements the golden age of tea, when it was subtly flavored with Library in conjunction with the exhibit “Patriotic Fare: flower blossoms and was associated with elaborate Bunker Hill Pickles, Abe Lincoln Tomatoes, Washington ceremonies. The baking of tea leaves to produce black Crisps and Uncle Sam Apples”. In an illustrated lecture, (oxidized) or Oolong (partly oxidized) tea was invented in curator Jan Longone noted that beginning about 1850, the Ming China (1368-1644). In the early 1600’s, tea became use of historical and patriotic imagery by the American food a major trade item by caravan and ship; powerful Dutch, business soared.
    [Show full text]
  • Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving
    Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving Day, annual national holiday in the United States and Canada celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. Americans generally believe that their Thanksgiving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people. The American holiday is particularly rich in legend and symbolism, and the traditional fare of the Thanksgiving meal typically includes turkey, bread stuffing, potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. With respect to vehicular travel, the holiday is often the busiest of the year, as family members gather with one another. groups that lasted until King Philip’s War (1675–76), in which hundreds of colonists and thousands of Native Americans lost their lives. The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “Thanksgivings,” days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. The U.S. Continental The First Thanksgiving, reproduction of an oil Congress proclaimed a national painting by J.L.G. Ferris, early 20th century.Library Thanksgiving upon the enactment of the of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC- Constitution, for example. Yet, after 1798, USZC4-4961) the new U.S. Congress left Thanksgiving declarations to the states; some objected to Plymouth’s Thanksgiving began with a the national government’s involvement in a few colonists going out “fowling,” possibly for religious observance, Southerners were slow turkeys but more probably for the easier prey to adopt a New England custom, and others of geese and ducks, since they “in one day took offense over the day’s being used to killed as much as…served the company hold partisan speeches and parades.
    [Show full text]
  • First National Thanksgiving Proclamation
    November 26 First National Other Events This Day • First lion exhibited in America (1716) Thanksgiving • First meteor photograph (1885) Proclamation The Pilgrims in the Colonies first celebrated Thanksgiving in 1621, giving thanks for the abundant food supply and help from their new friends the Native Americans . Another Thanksgiving in 1777 celebrated victory over the British . President George Washington issued a proclamation in 1789, calling for “Thursday, 26 November next, [to] be a day of public thanksgiving and prayer ”. He called upon everyone to give thanks for the successful end of the war; for the new government; for the tranquility, the union, and the plenty enjoyed by all . President Washington directed citizens to plead for continued blessings upon the country and its people . This proclamation was apparently lost for over 100 years . It is believed that it was probably left behind when the government moved from New York to Washington DC, or that it was mixed in with some other papers and discarded . It was located at an auction sale in a New York art gallery and was bought for $300 . It is now preserved and housed in the Library of Congress in Washington DC . Response In what way might this proclamation have influenced the date of our traditional Thanksgiving? Fascinating Factoid: The magazine editor, Sarah Josepha Hale, was instrumental in getting President Lincoln to establish a national Thanksgiving holiday . Word Play Make an acrostic by placing letters in the blanks before and/or after the letters in Thanksgiving . The words you use should relate to Thanksgiving . T __ __ __ __ __ __ H __ __ __ __ __ __ A __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ N __ __ __ __ __ K __ __ __ __ __ __ S Activities • Write about the things you G __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ are thankful for in your life, __ __ __ __ __ I __ __ and write about the things you should be thankful for __ __ __ V __ because you are an American .
    [Show full text]
  • How Thanksgiving Became a Tradition What Does September 28 and December 26 Have to Do with Thanksgiving?
    Today In Our History How Thanksgiving Became a Tradition What does September 28 and December 26 have to do with Thanksgiving? George Washington was the first President of the United States. He was also the first of three Presidents to consider a Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, more than one hundred years after the Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest in Plymouth Colony in the early fall of 1621. On September 28, 1789, the first Federal Congress passed a resolution asking that the President of the United States recommend to a national day of thanksgiving. Soon after the recommendation, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789, as a Day of Publick Thanksgiving and Prayer, the first Thanksgiving celebrated under the new Constitution. However, some states observed the day, many did not; and that was the end of that! George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving proclamation Sarah Josepha Buell was born in New Hampshire in 1788. She was schooled in the classics while being educated at home by her mother and college graduate brother. When she was 18, she taught at a private school, later married David Hale and lived a comfortable life with their five children. After nine years of marriage, she was widowed with children to support; her oldest child was seven and the youngest was two weeks old. She relied upon her background in literature as the best way of supporting her family. By 1823, she had published a small book of poems, The Genius of Oblivion. She continued to write poetry, and in 1830, her second book of poems, Poems for Our Sarah Josepha Buell Hale Children, contained her most famous piece, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”.
    [Show full text]
  • Republican Perspective GIVING THANKS
    Republican Perspective 21 November 2018 by Ed Manning GIVING THANKS “There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.” O. Henry - American author Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow. To many Americans it is a time for turkey with all the trimmings. A time for football, pumpkin pie and family conversation. Far removed will be disussions of the Pilgrims of 1621 or the Civil War in 1863. In November of 1620 the Pilgrims disembarked at Plymouth Rock to brave a New England winter. Unprepared for the brutal cold, nearly half of them died before Spring. As the weather thawed, they were surprised when and Indian named Samoset greeted them in their own language. He said that he was taught English from fishermen and traders. Samoset returned with a friend named Squanto. Both of these Indians taught the Pilgrims much about how to live and survive in New England. While Samoset left for his tribe, Squanto remained to live with the Pilgrims and accepted their Christian faith. Pilgrim Governor William Bradford described Squanto as “a special instrument sent of God for our good . and never left us till he died.” Both Samoset and Squanto helped the Pilgrims forge a long-lasting peace treaty with the Wampanoag Indians. In the summer of 1621 the Pilgrims reaped a bountiful harvest with the help of the Wampanoag. To celebrate their good fortune and to give thanks to God, the Pilgrims declared a three day feast to be held with the Indians in December — America’s first Thanksgiving. Fifty Pilgrims and ninety Wampanoag enjoyed the festivity.
    [Show full text]
  • THANKSGIVING DAY the American Calendar
    THE MEANING OF THANKSGIVING DAY The American Calendar Amy A. Kass | Leon R. Kass A Project of WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org For additional materials and opportunities for comment, readers are invited to visit our website: www.whatsoproudlywehail.org Copyright © 2012, editorial matter by What So Proudly We Hail Cover: Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, 1914 Design by Jessica Cantelon What So Proudly We Hail 1150 17th Street, NW Tenth Floor Washington, DC 20036 WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org Table of Contents * suitable for students, grades 5–8 1. THANKSGIVING: AN AMERICAN HOLIDAY The Origins and Traditions of Thanksgiving Day* 2 William Bradford, Excerpts from Of Plymouth Plantation 6 George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation* 11 Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, Excerpt from Northwood 13 Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, “Our National Thanksgiving”* 17 Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, Letter to President Abraham Lincoln* 18 Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving Proclamation* 20 Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, Modern Thanksgiving Proclamations* 22 James W. Ceaser, Excerpt from “No Thanks to Gratitude” 25 2. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BLESSINGS: THE THINGS FOR WHICH WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL Harvest John Greenleaf Whittier, “For an Autumn Festival” 29 John Greenleaf Whittier, “The Corn Song” * 31 Hearth and Home Louisa May Alcott, “An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving” * 33 Lydia Maria Child, “Thanksgiving Day” * 48 Nathaniel Hawthorne, “John Inglefield’s Thanksgiving” 49 Edgar Albert Guest, “Thanksgiving” * 54 Prosperity Harriet Beecher Stowe, “How We Kept Thanksgiving at Oldtown” * 57 Jack London, “Thanksgiving on Slav Creek”* 65 Sarah Orne Jewett, “The Lost Turkey”* 72 Langston Hughes, “Those Who Have No Turkey”* 79 Neighborliness and Hospitality Sarah Orne Jewett, “The Night Before Thanksgiving”* 85 O.
    [Show full text]
  • A Few Facts About Thanksgiving the Indians Who Lived Near Where The
    A Few Facts about Thanksgiving The Indians who lived near where the ship the Mayflower landed were called Wampanoag (pronounced WAMP-ah-nog). Even before the settlers arrived, the Wampanoag had met explorers. These Europeans brought diseases, and it is believed that because the Wampanoag had not built up resistance to these diseases, many died quickly from an epidemic. Some have theorized that the epidemic was like the plague that once wiped out almost half the population of Europe. The Wampanoag had farmed the land, but they had been so decimated by the epidemic that when the Mayflower settlers arrived, they found whole villages and fields with skeletons in them. So many people had died that there was nobody left to bury them. The settlers raided the graves that they found and stole food from supplies that the Wampanoag had stored for the winter. The Wampanoag were furious, but were no match for the settlers’ guns. The few Wampanoag who were left were worried about the enemies they already had, who were eager to defeat them. The Wampanoag needed allies, especially against another Native people known as the Narragansett. They saw that the settlers had guns that could be very useful. The settlers were a mixed group. About 37 of them were Separatists (who became known as Pilgrims), seeking religious freedom from the Church of England. Others were sympathetic to the Separatist cause and beliefs, but not members of the group. Others had skills that the Separatists knew they would need, such as barrel-making or soldiering. There were 102 people on the ship, of which 18 were adult women.
    [Show full text]
  • Thanksgiving More Than Turkeys and Feathers! Painting by David Bradley
    Thanksgiving More than Turkeys and feathers! Painting by David Bradley How did Thanksgiving as we know it today start? A woman named Sarah Josepha Hale created Thanksgiving. Who was Sarah Josepha Hale? Sarah was a very unusual woman. She was educated and worked as an editor of a national magazine. During the 1800’s, editors were men and most women weren’t educated. Sarah was an exception to the times. Sarah believed all women should have the opportunity to become educated and became an activist for women’s education. She was also one of the first American women to write a novel. Sarah was one of the first few in the United States to write a book about slavery. The premise of her book was that while slavery first and foremost hurts and dehumanizes slaves, and as a consequence it also dehumanizes the masters and retards the psychological and moral development of their world. How did Sarah become responsible for the creation of our modern day the Thanksgiving? Sarah was the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book. She used this position of power to begin a campaign in her editorials and then followed with personal letters to various politicians and presidents to petition Thanksgiving as a National Holiday. Responding to Sarah’s numerous letters and influenced by issues of a country divided by civil war, President Lincoln in an attempt to unify the Nation, proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. What does all of this have to do with Pilgrims and Indians? In creating her ideas for a National Thanksgiving Day, Sarah thought of the Mayflower and the Pilgrims and used part of a letter from Edward Winslow a governor of Plymouth Colony, which mentioned a meal between the Plymouth settlers and the Wampanoag native people.
    [Show full text]
  • Primary Source 1 – Letter from Sarah J. Parker to President Lincoln
    Primary Source 1 – Letter from Sarah J. Parker to President Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. Transcribed and Annotated by the Lincoln Studies Center, Knox College. Galesburg, Illinois. Sarah J. Hale to Abraham Lincoln, Monday, September 28, 1863 (Thanksgiving) From Sarah J. Hale to Abraham Lincoln1, September 28, 1863 Private Philadelphia, Sept. 28th 1863. Sir.-- Permit me, as Editress of the "Lady's Book", to request a few minutes of your precious time, while laying before you a subject of deep interest to myself and -- as I trust -- even to the President of our Republic, of some importance. This subject is to have the day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival. You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution. Enclosed are three papers (being printed these are easily read) which will make the idea and its progress clear and show also the popularity of the plan. For the last fifteen years I have set forth this idea in the "Lady's Book", and placed the papers before the Governors of all the States and Territories -- also I have sent these to our Ministers abroad, and our Missionaries to the heathen -- and commanders in the Navy. From the recipients I have received, uniformly the most kind approval. Two of these letters, one from Governor (now General) Banks and one from Governor Morgan2 are enclosed; both gentlemen as you will see, have nobly aided to bring about the desired Thanksgiving Union.
    [Show full text]