| OCR Text |
Show BACK TO EARLY DAYS. Record of Thanksgiving Celebration In Plymouth Colony. Ono of tho very earliest records of how n day of thanksgiving wns oh-served oh-served in tho Plymouth Colony Is as follows: "In ye Meetinghouse, beginning some halfc nn hour heforo nlno & continued until after twelve o'clocko, yo day booing very cold, beginning wt a short prayer, thon a psalmo Bang, then moro larger in prayer, after that an other Psalmo, & thon tho Word taught, after thut prayer & then a psalme Then makelng merry to tho creatures, tho poorer sort heolng Invited In-vited of tho richer," "On October 12, 1037, a thanksgiving thanksgiv-ing was hold malnoly for theso two particulars. 1. Ffor tho victory over tho pequouts, ye. 2. Ffor Reconciliation Recon-ciliation betwixt Mr. Cotton and tho other ministers." Thanksgiving wns thu3 colcbratod irregularly In Mnssachusotts, as occasion occa-sion suggested, down to 1CS0, aftor which It was annually ordered by tho General Couit, not always In November, Novem-ber, but generally aftor tho harvests were gnthered. Tho manner in which Thanksgiving day was first Instituted as a national festival has especial Intorcst. During tho war for Independence eight public pub-lic nnd gonoial Thanksgivings wero ordered by tho Continental Congress, but after tho general Thanksgiving for Pcaco In 1781 tho proclamations iero discontinued until 1789, whon tho first National Thanksgiving was proclaimed by President Washington, tho tlmo designated being tho Inst Thursday In November. Tho special purpose, as recommended recom-mended by CougresB, wns to glvo thanks for (lie adoption of tho Constitution. Con-stitution. In 1795, tho suppression of iho whisky Insurrection was recog-nlzod recog-nlzod by a presidential call for a national na-tional day of thnnksglvlng, Tho practice prac-tice of ofllclally recommending tho observance of a ThnnkBglvlna; fettl-val fettl-val wns gradually udoptod by tho States until it now linn plnro among ".lie sreat national holidays |
