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''T
Put
KS''
Back
Into
KSGIVING
by
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
fab ulously rich North America really know the cause of their manifold blessings?
F
EW PEOPLE
around the
world understand the
origin and purpose be–
hind the American and
Canadian customs of observ–
ing nat iona l days of thanks–
givi ng.
Or why these two grea t
nat ions- blessed with so high a
standard of living-each tradi–
tiona ll y obse rve a n ann u a l
Tha nksgivi ng 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 l>ilgrims sur–
vived. Spring brought new hope. In
spite of the hot summer of 1621,
they reaped abundant crops.
In grateful appreciation to God,
the Pi lgrims, led by Governor Wil-
18
liam Bradford, set aside a day for
feasting and thanksgiving. During
succeeding decades, the Thirteen
Colonies celebrated nume rous
thanksgiving days. But the first
national
day of thanksgiving was
set aside in 1789 by George Wash–
ington, the first U .S. President.
But it wasn't until the Civi l War
that the peoples of the United
States decided to observe an annual
Tbanksgiving Day. Ever since, fol –
lowing Presiden t Abraham Lin–
coln's
Proclamation
of 1863, the
nation has observed a national day
of thanksgiving annually.
Canada first adopted Thanksgiv–
ing as a national holiday in Novem–
ber 1879. I t is now celebrated
annually on the second Monday in
October.
How Others See l t
The former prime m1 n1 s ter of
Japan, Kakuei T anaka, once said of
the United States: " You have
such
an abundance
of resources ... I
think that as a nation you are too
privileged.... I think
God has not
been very fair in the distribution of
resources."
Yes, America is renowned-and
sometimes envied-around the
world because of her natural
resources. An estimated 12 million
aliens have e ntered the United
States
illegal/y
because they yearn
for the opportunity to work for a
share of that great natural wealth.
Today, all too many who do
share in the overflowing "horn of
plenty" fail to consider the warnjng
of American author John Stein–
beck. He once remarked,
"If
r
wanted to destroy a nation I would
give it
too much
and 1 would have
it on its knees, miserable, greedy
and sick."
How many in the United States
and Canada have been corrupted by
their superabundance to the neglect
of the genuine poor around them?
Did Anglo North Americans
acquire their national blessings of
and by themselves- by superior
intellect, by diligent application, by
The PLAIN TRUTH