By Craig Andresen on November 21, 2012
As We prepare for Thanksgiving, the travel, family, friends and a feast, too many individual traditions are there to mention. Some may volunteer to serve those who through circumstances are homeless while others may take time to visit retirement communities.
Some will remember our troops in various ways and I hope we all take a moment to thank them for all they do to maintain our freedoms.
There will be laughter, prayers, football, food and stories told tomorrow.
Some will, no doubt, speak of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims, the Indians, their hardships and how they came together.
I would, this year, like to take you back to a Thanksgiving long ago which most never think of on this holiday.
Before Thanksgiving WAS an official holiday it was still celebrated. Perhaps now as we celebrate it today but, indeed it did hold meaning.
The Thanksgiving of which I hope you will remember is that of 1776.
A newly declared independent nation was at war.
Thanksgiving was no longer thought of as a Puritan or holiday of religion. In 1776, it was a holiday for Patriots.
Traveling to the home of relatives was generally not done unless of course, those relatives lived in your community. Distance was one thing and naturally, by carriage or horseback, such travel would have been quite time consuming.
No, it was the danger of traveling in 1776. On THAT Thanksgiving, those who celebrated, as Patriots, would have become a target of the British army.
Thanksgiving in 1776 would have been somewhat subdued and spoken of ahead of time in hushed tones.
Neighbors likely would have come together and shared the meal and in some places, where the sound of muskets had been heard in previous days or where the British had been spotted nearby, curtains would have been drawn or window shutters closed.
No need to draw attention to a gathering, a large meal or anything else that would signal a Patriot lived there.
In some ways, that Thanksgiving, in 1776, was very similar to Thanksgiving 2012.
Families who celebrated at home were incomplete. Fathers, brothers and sons were away from home, fighting for freedom.
Families didn’t know exactly where their loved ones were or when they might return. Some had already lost a loved one to the war and others had returned home, injured.
Comments
And God Bless our military, their families and ALL their supporters!
And God Bless our military, their families and ALL their supporters!
GOD BLESS AMERICA