Put THANKS Back Into THANKSGIVING - Raymond F McNair - November-December 1984

Raymond F McNair

Each year the people of the United States and Canada set aside a national day of thanksgiving. Why? Do the inhabitants of fabulously rich North America really know the cause of their manifold blessings? Few people around the world understand the origin and purpose behind the American and Canadian customs of observing national days of thanksgiving. Or why these two great nations- blessed with so high a standard of living - each traditionally observe an annual Thanksgiving Day. The very first day of thanksgiving in North America was observed at Plymouth in 1621. The previous December, in 1620, Pilgrims - 103 in number - had landed on the bleak, wintry coast of present-day Massachusetts. The winter of 1620-21 took a frightful toll in sickness and death. Only 56 Pilgrims survived. Spring brought new hope. In spite of the hot summer of 1621, they reaped abundant crops. - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library