State Looks to Its Long History Around Traditional Thanksgiving (1985)

by Jeffrey Bingham Mead
Greenwich Time, Greenwich, Connecticut
November 27, 1985

There is no doubt that the early settlers of New England had a very special and unique pride about their new lives. And acute sense of community spurred these pioneering souls to work for the common good. Theirs was a desire, reinforced by a strong work ethic and the hardships of an unknown land, to shape and mold their destinies, a common trait found in towns such as ours and others across America. It was only inevitable that a special day of thanks for the blessings of the past year be set aside, and thus Thanksgiving, a unique American holiday originating here in New England, was born.

While the American Thanksgiving holiday is essentially a time of feasting, family reunions and prayer, the holiday is sometimes more synonymous with TV football games, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York and the first avalanche of Christmas shoppers. 

Despite all this we must never forget the true value of Thanksgiving.

While it has been recently discovered Thanksgiving actually began here in Connecticut in 1639, the "harvest festival" celebrated by the Pilgrims in Massachusetts in 1621 and the circumstances that led to Gov. Bradford to proclaim a holiday serve as a reminder of the hardships our ancestors lived with. It is documented that during the previous winter months the struggling colonists had been harshly treated. Only 55 for the original 101 settlers remained alive. They suffered from a relentless scourge of disease, cold and malnutrition. One colonist told of being terrified by "lyons." wolves, it is said, "sat on their tayles and grinned at them."

Days of Thanksgiving were celebrated sporadically until Pres. Washington's nationwide proclamation on November 26, 1789. He made it clear that it was to be a day of Thanksgiving, a day for prayer and giving thanks to God. The fact that the holiday was celebrated by individuals of all religious denominations helped promote a spirit of unity and heritage throughout the new-born American republic. Later in history, President Lincoln proclaimed an annual national holiday of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November 1863.

A century or so ago Harriet Beecher Stowe captured in words for us the mood and color of the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday. As she writes so well:

"The king and high priest of all festivals was the autumn Thanksgiving. When the apples were all gathered and the cider was all made, and the yellow pumpkins were rolled in from many a hill in billows of gold, and the corn was husked, and the labors of the season were done, and the warm, late days of Indian Summer came in, dreamy, and calm, and still, with just enough frost to crisp the ground of a morning, but with warm traces of benignant, sunny hours at noon, there came over the community a sort of genial repose of spirit – a sense of something accomplished."

In a sense, that is the imagery of Thanksgiving and indeed its essence – a time to be thankful after faith and principles have been tested, a time to reflect on the brighter side of life, and the accomplishment of the past.

We are very fortunate in this town to have an overwhelming majority of dedicated, law-abiding citizens whose beliefs helped guide our prosperity with continued hope for a better tomorrow. There are amongst us many unsung heroes who give time and talent conscientiously to serve others and the community. 

Let us give thanks to those who manage our social services, whose careers deal with caring about the welfare of others, young and old alike. Remember the Friendly Visitor who takes time to spend with an elderly shut-un. Also, this Big Brothers and Big Sisters who also take time to spend with our young people deserve our thanks. Indeed we do have more than our share of dedicated politicians, and let us not forget the teachers who devote themselves to training our next generation.

We also have many parents who don't neglect or overindulge their children. Let us be thankful for the doctor and nurses who care for our elderly and the infirm, the policemen and firemen who serve the public, at times risking their own lives to protect others, and our religious clergy who provide guidance in times of trouble and work to protect and instill our moral and spiritual values. The list is almost endless.

Do we not live in a society where our freedoms are preserved and protected by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution? How fortunate we as Americans are to live where we want to, vote as we choose, speak our minds and express her thoughts and conscience. Consider those around the world, in the East Bloc, South Africa, Afghanistan, Cuba and elsewhere who may live in poverty, hunger, burdened by torture and repression, unable to do those things we take for granted.

We have much to be thankful for. While it is easy to let our troubles cast a cloud over us, and we may bicker and disagree, we nevertheless have the strength, desire and drive to face our challenges courageously. 

Thanksgiving is the embodiment of so many good things for good reasons. The task of pursuing these good things entails the spirit of community virtue, hard work, faith in ourselves and others, perseverance and a special reverence for our past. Just as the colonists did so three centuries ago, our special challenge is to forge on, to jump the hurdles before us and, as tall an order as it may be, work for a better society.

Jeffrey Bingham Mead is a resident of Greenwich at a direct descendent of one of the founding families of the town. He is a freelance writer and a member of the Greenwich Historical Society.