Wednesday, November 9, 2011 Thanksgiving in Early America
Thanksgiving in Early America by Elaine Marie Cooper When we sit
down at our Thanksgiving meal this month, we’ll be recreating a
celebration that is as old as our country: sharing food with
loved ones while thanking the God Who has provided the
abundance. While we understand that the First Thanksgiving was
celebrated here by the Mayflower survivors along with the
Indians that had helped them, the first official proclamation
that was decreed to celebrate such a holiday was in 1777. It was
a recommendation to the thirteen states by the Continental
Congress to set aside December 18th that year as a “solemn
thanksgiving” to celebrate the first major victory for the
Continental troops in the American Revolution: the Battle of
Saratoga. The Battle of Saratoga has significant interest for my
own family since one of my ancestors was a soldier there. But he
was not on the American side—he was a British Redcoat. After
surrendering to the Americans, he escaped th