Howdy Friends! Following a resolution of Congress, President George Washington proclaimed Thursday the 26th of November 1789 a day of “public thanksgiving and prayer” devoted to “the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.”
Issued by President George Washington, at the request of Congress, on October 3, 1789 His Proclamation began, “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; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “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 and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a federal holiday in 1863, calling it a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”.
We have, each of us, many more things to be truly thankful for than we sometimes take time to remember. Take time today, and indeed each day, to remember those things. ~ Gitty Up, Dutch.
