A DaY DEDICATED TO GRATiTuDE & GIVING
That's the title I chose for my one-page intro to Chapter 13 in my historical fiction, "Oh! Susannah". Chapter 13 covers the time period of November 1859 in the life of my 3rd great grandmother, Susannah Reigle Beckley. By 1859, the State of Ohio was only 56 years old and "The Harvest Festival", which is what we know as Thanksgiving, had only begun 14 years previously to Ohio being distinguished from the Northwest Territory. What I'm getting at is I remember 56 years ago, November 1967, and that Thanksgiving family feast being one of the first I recall, but then again, I have vague memories of JFK's assassination on my 4th birthday in 1963.
Ohio's Governor Samuel Chase on November 24, 1859 sent a message to the citizens of his State, encouraging all to set aside the day for "thanksgiving and prayer". It seems that over the years, since its inception, Thanksgiving had only been intermittently observed. It was President Abraham Lincoln who actually made our annual November festival a permanent and established national observance.
The Carroll Free Press Standard published the Governor's remarks. Here is an excerpt:
"The Governor urges all good citizens to lay aside their business on that day, and repair to their respective places of worship." (This probably ruled out any other activity, such as sport and things akin to our modern day binge watching of American Grid Iron.) The Governor's address continued, "That this special day be distinguished by works of benevolence and charity towards men, in confirming friendships, in the rescinding of anomies, in the sending of portions to the needy, and in the promoting, so far as practicable, of the welfare and happiness of all ..."
Sounds a bit quaint, doesn't it? Nostalgic even, as in, "what a nice idea". Perhaps Gov. Chase felt the need to prick the conscious of his fellow Ohioans during this time of the year? It is good to remember to be grateful, and even enjoy a festival, recognizing the harvest of all your hard work.
Should an American from 1859 be suddenly transported to Thanksgiving 2023, what would he/she think of the movement of purportedly 55 million people across this country this weekend? And for some, it is a 1- day trek, as they're back at work come Friday. My guess is they would be perplexed by this human migration and perhaps, even amused at the folly. You might find some scratching their head, "But, the Governor has just told us to lay aside our business on this day and repair to our respective places of worship."
I guess the theme here transcending generations and hundreds of years is, take a moment to give thanks and gratitude for all that Providence has provided us and commit to pay forward from the depths of abundance of which we've been so blessed.