Disciple Life

November 24, 2019

Dear Friends,

According to the history books, Thanksgiving, in the American Colonies, originated in the fall of 1621, when Pilgrims celebrated their successful wheat crop and overflowing store cupboards with a three-day feast. You can head to the Plimouth Plantation in Massachusetts to experience an authentic recreation of that original celebration. If you don’t want to go that far there are local alternatives available. In Plimouth, the hosts shared their meal of partridge, wild turkey, and fish with the Massasoit and Wampanoag Native American tribes. Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year.

However, the colonists were not really inventing something new, they were merely bringing with them traditions that were already old when they came to the New World. Those traditions grew out of the celebration of harvest, and the impulse to give thanks to God. For thousands of years, in many different ways, people have expressed their gratitude for the gifts of the earth. At its most basic, a good harvest guaranteed that no one needed to go hungry during the lean, cold, hard winter months; it was a symbol of hope. Despite the icy grip of winter, the seasons would continue to revolve; springtime and summer would return; the fruits of the earth would reappear; life would endure.

As we, in turn, lift our hymns and songs on high, we give thanks for God’s bountiful provision, and praise the Lord of the Harvest.

Yours Aye, 

In Christ,

Alan Trafford