Thanksgiving Proclamation

As Thanksgiving fast approaches I cannot begin to count the blessings God has given, so much more to be thankful for than space to write or breath to speak.I came across George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation, it was his first official proclamation after becoming the first president of the United States in 1789. Give special attention to what our duty as a nation is, what Thanksgiving Day is suppose to be devoted to, how it was intended to be observed, for what and to Whom we are to be thankful, to remember Who is the source and bestower of our blessings, and to be good stewards of and share those blessings. How much attention to or awareness of this proclamation is there in our society today? How many know the true origins, history, and foundations of our country and the holidays we celebrate and why we celebrate and have reason to give thanks?
I would encourage you to read and reread over and again this proclamation. Share it with as many people as possible; forward it, print copies and give them out, read them to your family and children as you gather to give thanks, if you teach share it with your students and parents-it is well within your protected rights. So many today are trying to rewrite history and outright lie about the Godly foundation and heritage of our country. Who better than George Washington to remind us all? "In God we trust" and to Him should we be thankful individually and as a nation! God bless you this Thanksgiving and throughout the upcoming Christmas season!

George Washington's1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation
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:"Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States 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; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted' for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have show kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3rd day of October, A.D. 1789.(signed) G. Washington


1621

Pilgrims and Native Americans enjoyed a harvest feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts. This feast may have become the model for today's American celebration.
1630
Settlers and colonists from many continents brought customs of days of prayer and thanksgiving, especially in New England, where the first Thanksgiving of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was observed on July 8, 1630.
1777
The first Thanksgiving of the new United States of America occurred in 1777 when General George Washington and his army, as instructed by the Continental Congress, stopped in bitter weather in the open fields on their way to Valley Forge to mark the occasion.
1789
Washington's first proclamation after his inauguration as the nation's first president in 1789 declared November 26, 1789, as a national day of "thanksgiving and prayer