Originally thanksgiving was formed in New England and Canada by colonists who gave prayers of thanks for such blessings as safe journeys, military victories, or abundant harvests. Americans model the holiday on a 1621 harvest feast shared between English colonists and the Wampanoag. Canadians traced their earliest thanksgiving to 1578, when a Martin Frobisher-led expedition celebrated safe passage.

Thanksgiving Day, an annual national holiday in the United States and Canada, celebrates the harvest and other blessings of the past year.

Thanksgiving is all about reflecting on blessings and acknowledging gratitude. After all, in President George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation, he stated about its purpose:

“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me ‘to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.’“

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0091

The holiday itself is steeped in an attitude of gratitude, so on this holiday here in the US, I would like to encourage you to think about all those things you are thankful for. Especially with the past few years of the pandemic, where we were away from family and those we love.

It doesn’t where you live, your race, your religion, shoe size, hair color; it is all about just being grateful for what you have, whether that is a lot or a little. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, no matter where you are.