Thanksgiven Day. Is a time to say thanks, for all the blessings given to you. Be thankful for our Children, Grandchildren, Wives and Husbands. Be thankful, for our founding fathers. Be thankful, for ALL those, who serve and defend this grand country. Be thankful for the freedoms, this nation has to offer.
Most of all. Be thankful that God has blessed you and your family.That you can have this feast, in the safety of your own home, with family and friends.
Take care,
Be safe.
God Bless you, and your family.
Chris - Alaska
The History behind why we celebrate Thanksgiving
The tradition of Thanksgiving as a time to focus on God and thank Him for His blessings dates back almost four centuries in America. Colonists held Thanksgiving services in Texas in 1541, in Florida in 1565, and in Virginia in 1607 and 1619, but it is from the Pilgrims that we derive the current tradition of a Thanksgiving that includes prayers to God, a meal with friends, and a time of athletic competition. The Pilgrims arrived in America in December 1620 and experienced a harsh winter of extreme hunger and starvation in which half of them died. The following summer, the Pilgrims reaped a bountiful harvest. As Pilgrim Edward Winslow (who later became their governor) affirmed, "God be praised, we had a good increase of corn. . . . [and] by the goodness of God, we are far from want."
The grateful Pilgrims therefore declared a three-day feast in December 1621 to thank God and to celebrate with their friends. Ninety Wampanoag Indians joined the fifty Pilgrims for three days of food (which included shellfish, lobsters, turkey, corn bread, berries, deer, and other foods), of athletic games (the young Pilgrim and Wampanoag men engaged in races, wrestling matches, and other athletic events), and of prayer. This celebration – America's first Thanksgiving Festival – was the origin of the holiday that Americans now celebrate each November.The first national Thanksgiving was proclaimed in 1789 by President George Washington, but after Washington, national Thanksgiving proclamations were sporadic; most official Thanksgiving observances occurred at the state level. In fact, by 1815, state governments had issued no less than 1,400 official prayer proclamations, almost half of which were for days of thanksgiving and prayer.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of Godey's Lady's Book (a popular lady's books containing poetry, art work, and articles by America's leading authors) began to lobby for a national Day of Thanksgiving. For nearly three decades, she contacted president after president until Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside the last Thursday of that November.
Over the next seventy-five years, presidents faithfully followed Lincoln's precedent, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day, but the date of the celebrations varied widely from proclamation to proclamation. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt celebrated Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November and maintained that date year by year throughout his presidency. In 1941, Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday in November as the national Thanksgiving holiday.
As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, there are several ways in which you can enhance the celebration of America's oldest holiday:
Written by David Barton
US Historian
A Prayer of Thanksgiving
Father of the Ages,
Thank You
for providing everything we need.
Thank You for grandparents
who prayed for us before we were born
as we pray for the grandchildren of our grandchildren.
Thank You for teaching us to love
by loving us,
for all the love You give and we share.
Thank You for surrounding us with the miracle of Your creation,
for the heavens
and the sparrows.
Thank You for laughter and others to laugh with,
for service and others to serve with.
Thank You for
health, sight, hearing,
hands to work
and hands to hold,
holidays and beauty,
books and music,
children,
food,
rest,
homes,
and
memories.
My my, we are so blessed.
Thank you for being here,
watching, caring, helping.
Glory to Your name!
Thank You for who You are.
Here is Johnny Cash singing a Thanksgiving Prayer 
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