This is part 3 of a number
of facts associated with THANKSGIVING. This is an all American holiday. Although the US
and Canada celebrate the day on different dates, the purpose is the same. |
Part 3The First Thanksgiving:
The United States of America has entered the post-Christian
period. Christians must take a defensive posture. Pushing "political
correctness" to the exclusion of historical correctness has disenfranchised our youth
from our true Christian heritage. The teaching of un-history and mass media's pursuit of
their own agendas have denied many people a source of true history. History should not be
rewritten to force an agenda or to avoid offense of a particular group or idea. History is
history and should not be manipulated to strip America and the West of its traditions and
accomplishments.
Our nation, as opposed to others which evolved over a long time, was deliberately created
in a specific way. People sat down and prayerfully designed what it should be. It is a
unique heritage, rich in ideas and traditions. Thanksgiving is a holiday that reflects our
national religious character. Contrary to current popular belief, Thanksgiving in North
America did not grow out of ancient pagan harvest customs. Thanksgiving grew out of a
desire to set aside a day to thank the Lord for His many blessings.
What about the first Thanksgiving?:
For many historians the first Thanksgiving in what is now the United States occurred on
April 3, 1513. This took place when Juan Ponce De Leon landed in Florida during the Easter
season of 1513. He and the crew gave thanks as they stepped into the water to wade ashore.
Others claim the first Thanksgiving was on May 23, 1541. At this time Francisco Vásquez
de Coronado camped along the Palo Duro in Texas Panhandle, had service of Thanksgiving.
Carolinas.
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Perhaps the first Thanksgiving in the New World was as early as 1564. A small
colony of French Huguenots came to the New World for religious freedom. They established a
settlement near present-day Jacksonville, Florida. They had constructed their earthen and
log huts and dug a well at Fort Caroline. They also took time to give thanks to God. On
June 30, 1564, their leader, Rene de Laudonniere, recorded that "We sang a psalm of
Thanksgiving unto God, beseeching Him that it would please Him to continue His accustomed
goodness towards us." Unfortunately they were slaughtered the next year by Spanish
soldiers of Menendez de Aviles, so they really didn't get a chance to start a tradition.
This event is often noted in Florida history books as the first Thanksgiving in the New
World.
This does not seem to be the expected "traditional" Thanksgiving. There were no
Indians, no food, and the colony didn't last long. On September 8, 1565 Don Pedro Menendez
landed at what is now Mission Nombre de Dios and immediately held a Mass of Thanksgiving.
Afterwards Menendez asked the local Seloy Indians to dinner. The menu was different, of
course. Cocido, a stew of salt pork, garbanzo beans and garlic, served as the main course,
accompanied by hard sea biscuits and red wine. Although the colonists struggled for many
years, the community survived to become the first permanent European settlement in the
United States. Perhaps this is closer to one's idea of the "first Thanksgiving."
Dr. Michael Gannon, Assoc. Dean Univ. of Floridas College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences said. "This was the first community act of religion and thanksgiving in the
first permanent settlement in the land."
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