A Fresh Look at the Thanksgiving Holiday

For Christians in the US, the American Thanksgiving holiday serves as a time of blessed fellowship as family and friends gather to give thanks to our Creator. In my home growing up it meant plenty of good food to be thankful for (imagine a table with sweet potato pie, turkey, and mashed potatoes with gravy), it was my favorite holiday as a child. Over the years, and as I’ve matured in my Christian faith, it’s come to mean much more than stuffing my face with stuffing! It is a time to reflect on the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness.

The national holiday of Thanksgiving was established in 1789 by a proclamation signed President George Washington at the request of Congress. From George Washington’s Thanksgiving address:

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor…

The earliest documentation shows the Thanksgiving holiday in American traces back to the Pilgrim’s 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving which was prompted by a good harvest. During this time the celebrations were declared by church leaders. In 1623, William Bradford, a Puritan and Governor of the Plymouth Colony planned a Thanksgiving celebration and fast. It wasn’t until the late 1600s that harvest festivals became an annual event declared by both state and church leaders.

Most of us learned about the beginnings of the Thanksgiving holiday in grade school and are familiar with its origins. But have you considered the parallels between the Exodus and the Pilgrim’s flight from England? William Bradford certainly did. In his journal, Of Plymouth Plantation, he compares the Pilgrim’s voyage to and early experience in America with the Israelites’ migration from Egypt to Canaan:

Our fathers were Englishmen who came over the great ocean and were ready to perish in the wilderness, but they cried to the Lord, and He heard their voice and looked on their adversity….  Yes, let them who have been redeemed of the Lord, show how He has delivered them from the hand of the oppressor.  When they wandered forth into the desert-wilderness, out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them.  Let them confess before the Lord His loving kindness, and His wonderful works before the sons of men.

Some historians believe the thanksgiving celebration may have its roots in the Jewish tradition of Sukkot – the Feast of Tabernacles – which commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from persecution in Egypt. The Pilgrims themselves were fleeing from religious persecution in England. But before coming to the New World, they spent a decade living among Sephardic Jews in Holland, where they very likely observed the  Jewish celebratory festival of Sukkot – giving thanks to God for bringing them into the Promised Land.

Today, Americans live in the greatest nation on earth – the early pilgrims thought of it as the ‘new Israel’. Collectively, we as citizens of the United States of America have so much to be grateful for! And personally, I have a great deal to be thankful for. My 8x great grandfather, Hans Jurgen Majer, and his wife came to America in 1717 as part of Virginia’s 2^nd Germanna Colony. He and his family endured great hardship to get here and although he was an indentured servant for many years, once he gained freedom – the family prospered. He was a member of Hebron Lutheran Church, the oldest Lutheran congregation in Virginia. Today with a grateful heart, I imagine their prayers of thanksgiving and prayers for the generations of Americans to come. This holiday season, I thank the Lord for His salvation, for His peace that surpasses understanding, for those who by His Spirit came before us to light the way and for those who come after us – that they will know Him. For He is faithful and His love everlasting. I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving holiday!

If you’d like to tour the Promised Land of Israel – check out our upcoming tours to Israel hosted by Godly men and women who want to share their knowledge of the Land – the birthplace of our Messiah – Jesus.