releases: http://cole.house.gov/american-tradition
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| http://cole.house.gov/american-tradition | An American Tradition | 2015-11-23 | 2015 | 2015-11 | Republican | House | OK | Tom Cole | C001053 | cole.house.gov | legacy | In the United States of America, we have a longstanding tradition of coming together each year on Thanksgiving to recognize and reflect upon our many blessings. While some years produce a great deal of trials and hardship, its important to remember that there is never a shortage of things for which to be grateful. Like most, I cant help but remember the first feast where the Pilgrims celebrated a bountiful harvest with Native Americans after rocky beginnings and heartbreaking losses. The resilience of the Pilgrims in dire circumstances and their providential partnership with Native Americans still reminds us of Gods perfect provision. Im also struck by a story more than two centuries after that first Thanksgiving at Plymouth. Even though President George Washington issued a proclamation for Americans to observe a day of thanks in 1789, it was President Abraham Lincoln who reaffirmed the need for a day of collective gratitude to be celebrated on the same day each year across every state. While most states independently designated days for citizens to give thanks for their good fruits and fortune, it was President Lincoln who acted on making Thanksgiving an annual coordinated effort nationwide. This action came in response to a letter he received from Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor who had long advocated for the holiday to permanently become "an American custom and institution." Its interesting to observe that Thanksgivingto this day one of our most unifying American traditionswas made permanent when our nation was plagued by great uncertainty, uneasiness and what were feared irreconcilable differences. In fact, Lincolns Thanksgiving proclamation came just a month and a half before delivering his famous Gettysburg address halfway through the Civil War. This year, Thanksgiving comes in the midst of growing unrest and acts of terror around the world and subsequent feelings of uneasiness in our own country. As you spend time with family, friends and loved ones, I hope youll take a moment to call to mind and thank God for the abundance of blessings we have as a free nation. But I also ask you to join me in saying a special prayer for the safety of our nation and allies, wisdom for those leading and protection over those risking their lives to defend and preserve our precious freedoms. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |