In today’s episode, I want to encourage you to make Thanksgiving a Christian holiday.
You might ask, Isn’t Thanksgiving already a Christian holiday? Unfortunately, many people today do not associate Thanksgiving with God or religion and have no idea about its Christian roots. For most people, the Thanksgiving holiday is only a time to get together with family, watch football games on television, and stuff themselves with turkey and pumpkin pie.
Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for life’s blessings, but primarily it should be a time to give thanks to God for providing those blessings.
The Bible says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 136:1).”
What can Christians do to revive a true Christian Thanksgiving holiday? First, we can remind people about the true origin of the holiday.
In 1620, a group of Christians called Pilgrims sailed from England for the New World. The voyage took ten weeks, but when they landed in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, their problems were just beginning. During that first winter, the cold, lack of food, and disease killed almost half of their group. 45 passengers and 15 crew members died in the first year.
Starting in March of the year 1621, Native Americans in the area helped the Pilgrims and taught them how to survive. The following November, the colonists held a harvest celebration and invited the Native Americans to join them in the festivities.
William Bradford, who was governor of the colony at the time, wrote concerning that first year in the New World: “They found the Lord to be with them in all their ways, and to bless their outgoings and incomings, for which let His holy name have the praise forever, to all posterity.”
Following that first harvest celebration, various colonies proclaimed “Days of Thanksgiving” during which the colonists held special church services to give thanks to God for his provisions, and harvest celebrations became an annual tradition.
In 1789, Congress asked President George Washington to proclaim a day of thanksgiving. Their resolution asked Washington 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.”
In response, Washington made the proclamation, saying that Thursday, the 26th day of November, would be a special day for public thanksgiving and prayer.
After Washington’s proclamation, subsequent presidents designated special days during the harvest months to give thanks to God. Until, finally, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday. Lincoln described it as a time to give thanks to “our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”
So, as we can see, from the time of the first thanksgiving celebration and for the next two hundred and forty years, the harvest celebration, which has become our traditional Thanksgiving holiday, has been a Christian holiday.
What about non-Christians? Can people who have no faith or who don’t believe in Jesus celebrate the holiday?
Think about that first harvest celebration. The Pilgrims invited the Native Americans to their festivities. Despite the fact that the Native Americans were not Christians, the very devout Pilgrims wanted to celebrate the harvest with them.
We should do the same. We can give thanks to God and celebrate with people who do not share our faith. The Thanksgiving holiday is for everyone. Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:44-45).”
In conclusion, I want to encourage you to share the Christian origins of the Thanksgiving holiday. Don’t let your friends and relatives simply give thanks for stuff. Encourage them to give thanks to God for his provisions. When your family gets together to partake of the Thanksgiving meal, take a moment to give thanks to God. It doesn’t have to be a long prayer. Simply return thanks to God for his provision.
Next, find a way to mention Thanksgiving’s Christian origin and official proclamations. In summary, Thanksgiving was started by devout Christians who gave thanks to God for his provisions. George Washington proclaimed a day of thanksgiving, and Abraham Lincoln, a devout Christian, proclaimed the official day for Thanksgiving.
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