What do we know about the history of Thanksgiving Day? Is this Festival an occasion that true Christians can participate in? What do we read in general about true thankfulness to God for His physical blessings, even in difficult times, and how can Thanksgiving Day contribute to this attitude of thankfulness?
In our free booklet, “Is That In the Bible? Man’s Holidays and God’s Holy Days,” we say the following about “Thanksgiving Day”:
“The first observance of the Thanksgiving Festival in America occurred in early November or December of 1621… when the Governor of Plymouth Colony, William Bradford, appointed a three-day feast. That observance was established to show gratitude to the Almighty as that difficult year drew to an end and the harvest was plentiful. While this was not the first Thanksgiving in America (thanksgiving services were held in Virginia as early as 1607), it was America’s first Thanksgiving Festival…
“Following that first observance, the colonists continued to celebrate days of thanksgiving annually, in recognition of the blessings received of this new land. The first Thanksgiving to God… in Plymouth Colony was actually celebrated during the summer of 1623, when the colonists declared a Thanksgiving holiday after their crops were saved by much-needed rainfall.
“This day has been preserved and continued by Presidents of the United States who believed, more or less, in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the Bible, as a source of national greatness and integrity. In 1789, America’s first President, George Washington, issued a Thanksgiving proclamation in honor of the new Constitution. He stated, ‘It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.’
“God illustrates this principle in Deuteronomy 17:18–19. He specifically shows that it is His desire that the leaders of nations govern based upon the principles and laws of the Bible. Abraham Lincoln recognized the need for the people to stay close to God if they would continue to receive the blessings, which were being afforded them by the Almighty… On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day; a day set aside to give God thanks for the blessings He continued to bestow upon America…
“That proclamation was repeated for the following 75 years by every subsequent president, until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving Day up one week earlier than had been tradition, to appease merchants who wanted more time to feed the growing pre-Christmas consumer frenzy. Folding to congressional pressure two years later, Roosevelt signed a resolution returning Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November, as Congress in 1941 permanently set the fourth Thursday of each November as America’s national day of Thanksgiving.
“But would God have true Christians keep this day as a national holiday, since this is not a day He established and specifically requires in Scripture?
We have examples of national holidays established by the Jews and recorded in Scripture for historical purposes—days, which were not instituted specifically by God. Thus, the fact that Thanksgiving Day was established by man, does not, in itself, make it wrong for a Christian to celebrate such a day.
“In John 10:22–23, we find Jesus attending the ‘Feast of Dedication,’ which was established by the Jews to commemorate the purification of the Temple at Jerusalem… Christ’s attendance at that annual holiday clearly illustrated that it was not wrong to attend and celebrate a national holiday established for the right purposes…
“Esther and Mordecai established the Feast of Purim to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews from Haman (Esther 9), and the Bible does not condemn them for this.
“A very significant point here is that we do not find pagan origins in the Jewish holidays of the ‘Feast of Dedication’ or the ‘Feast of Purim.’ That is true also in relation to the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Of course, the early pilgrims celebrated their first Thanksgiving Day in 1621 together with Native Americans, but they did so to thank God—not pagan gods—for His protection and blessing…”
The celebration or observance of the Thanksgiving Festival can serve as a reminder to be thankful to God for His blessings. It is true, of course, that because of its sinful conduct, the USA is losing many of its original blessings which God had promised to Abraham due to his unwavering and uncompromising obedience. Because of the unwise political decisions of the leadership, many American consumers are suffering today from high prices for goods and services, and many cannot afford proper housing. But there is still much Americans can be thankful for, and Americans are still blessed bountifully in comparison to many nations around the world.
Especially true Christians have obtained God’s promise that God will bless them with food, clothing and shelter when they seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first (Matthew 6:33; Luke 12:31), and David proclaimed that even in his old age, he had never seen a righteous person forsaken by God and his children begging for bread (Psalm 37:25).
In our Q&A, “Does God promise us physical blessings when we lead a righteous life?”, we showed that God gives us promises of physical blessings, when we have the right priorities and obey Him.
And so, the Bible instructs us to recognize this fact and to give thanks to God continually for His blessings—not just on Thanksgiving Day, but most certainly also during the Thanksgiving Day weekend.
1 Chronicles 16:34 tells us: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
We read in 1 Chronicles 29:12-13:
“Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name.”
Also note Psalm 107:8-9:
“Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing [thirsty] soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”
As the early pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving Day, we too should recognize where our blessings originate, and thank God for it:
Psalm 67:6 states (RSV): “The earth has yielded its increase [or harvest]. God, our God, has blessed us.”
Ephesians 5:20 instructs us to give “thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 4:4-7 adds what we need to do in times of need:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 states:
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
As the Thanksgiving Festival draws to a close this year, let us not stop thanking God for His bountiful blessings, appreciating what He has given us and not covetously desiring those things which we do not have, while becoming unthankful in respect to those things which God has blessed us with.
Lead Writer: Norbert Link