It's a good thing that our country was founded by people who believed in God. Their faith has given us one day of the year to think about our blessings and to think of them humbly and with gratitude. Thanksgiving Day reflects our deep-seated knowledge that a country's strength depends on a force greater than any individual or group. Throughout the history of America, people have known this to be true. The first designated Thanksgiving Day celebrated in North America occurred more than 400 years ago at Berkeley Plantation on the James River in Virginia. It was held on December 4, 1619 and observed annually thereafter. Two years later, the Pilgrims of New England celebrated a Thanksgiving Day in gratitude for both their survival and the bountiful harvest. Half of the Plymouth Colony had died of starvation and cold during the previous winter. They were thankful that the coming winter would be easier, thanks to the good harvest. Governor William Bradford called for a festival to thank God for simple things, the bountiful harvest, wild game for hunting, and life, the most important gift. The day was celebrated for the next century and a half before President George Washington issued a proclamation in 1789 making Nov. 26 a national day of thanksgiving in the new United States. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln designated the last Thursday in November to be "a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father." In 1941, Congress passed a law making the fourth Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day, a legal holiday.
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