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Show 7 HE American Thanksgiving Thanks-giving this year is invested in-vested with a profound pro-found significance, a blending of reverent appreciation for the blessings of the ' twelvemonth, and a poignant regret that so many members mem-bers of the World Family are in the red agony of war. The Thanksgiving, definitely established after national stress and travail, is tender with sympathy sym-pathy and brotherhood, and, while one gives freely of thanks to his Creator, Crea-tor, freely, likewise, does he give of love for his fellows. It is the most human off seasons, in which man should, and does, follow the eternal lesson of the Great Teacher. Thanksgiving is elemental in the soul of man and it probably found its' first expression, not in peace, but after aft-er conflict in the early twilight of history, when some of the hairy men, who had awakened to the mystery and- majesty of the sun as the giver of good things, raised their scarred arms toward it, reverent and tri umphant, their grateful gutturals voicing voic-ing thanks for victory. And this primitive thanksgiving will be multiplied and intensified a thousandfold thou-sandfold at the expiration of the present war and not for the victory but for the coming of peace. In the intoxication of bloody ' triumph there cah be little of the deep, spiritual thanksgiving; for, despite the gigan-'.ic gigan-'.ic slaughter that has made this century cen-tury the Crimson age, the world (3 3till one big family with interests so closely interrelated that none is unaffected un-affected by the struggle. And none will give thanks, even with the prize of victory, for having made widows and orphans by the hundreds of thousands thou-sands In the real thanksgiving there Is neither exultation nor pride; no reflection re-flection of bitterness or hate; but a sweet realization of the kinship of all .men before the Great Father. In certain early and oriental liturgies litur-gies was the Great Thanksgiving, now replaced by the preface and part of the canon. Then there is the General Thanksgiving in the Book of Common Prayer, a collect in the third place from the end of the order for morning and evening prayer, and of the litany. But the Thanksgiving which, while marked by the incense of prayer, ba3 the sunny lightsomeness of good cheer and laughter, is that annually ob; served in the United States. In the beginning of the observance was a day set apart by the Plymouth Pilgrims, in 1G21, in acknowledgment of their first harvest In America. It was perpetuated in many states by an annual festival appointed by the governor. Its national celebration. In recognition of the year's blessings, was first recommended by proclamation proclama-tion issued at the city of New York, in 17S9. by George Washington, who set apart for observance Thursday. N'ovember 26, of that year. The war between the states was the event that established the national day. It has been, therefore, sanciified by the blood of brothers who died not in vain, for as a recurring observance it was proclaimed by President Lincoln Lin-coln in October, 1S63, who fixed the ' wtfcr jTv j'kV lf. ;g7C7 ss&cr J last Thursday in November. It since has thus been observed. So it is that in 1915 the people of the United States give thank?, not for a war over, with the combatants putting aside the science of murder for the science of constructive things and resolutely facing the future, but because the country is at peace with its world brothers and looks toward taking the impartial part in the bringing bring-ing about of the peace of Europe and of the world. Dr. Carleton Simon, the distinguished neurologist, recently, recent-ly, while discussing "war as an acute nervous affliction and its treatment and its cure," made an interesting diagnosis of the condition of the United States. It may be reassuring to hear from such an eminent authority, author-ity, who regards the more than 90,-000,000 90,-000,000 human beings in the presentment present-ment of a gigantic composite, that there Is no fear of Uncle Sam "Hying off the handle." "The United States has escaped," says he. "That is the special occasion occa-sion for thanksgiving. But may not the whole world come to find cause for real thanksgiving in the new spirit derived and nourished by the tragedy of this war?" Contrast these typical rural Thanksgiving Thanks-giving pictures with some of the family fam-ily groups and of sustenance opera tions within the war-smitten territory, and, if you be apart from want, you will feel a pang of keenest commiseration commisera-tion and a regret that all of the world's struggling family should not be sharing shar-ing the peace-and-plenty conditions. In this case the turkey Is the bird alike of peace and of plenty. It Is the bird, likewise, of sacrifice but not of burnt offering and goes to its appointed ap-pointed end with what, seems like a conscious dignity of the part it plays in the grateful season. What finish more honorable and impressive im-pressive for a bird than to be fated to die to make happy an entire nation? For this brief, golden period the eagle is only a remote symbol. The Thanksgiving Thanks-giving bird is magically transformed into a tempting thing of appetizing odors, an eye-entrancing vision f glistening brown and bronze and bringing bring-ing in Its train attendants of the held that crisply show ivory white and pale emerald, and translucent, liquid ruby. In the turkey at this season there are the pride of country, the religious sense of a nation and its sustaining hopefulness, the racial family spirit that "makes the whole world akin," and the very essence of pleasing plenty. |
