When we say the word “Thanks-giving,” it presumes the giving of thanks.
But to whom is that thanks given?
Since the first Thanksgiving on Plymouth Rock and its subsequent establishment as a day of thanks on Oct. 3, 1789, the recipient of that thanks on behalf of the United States of America has always been God.
But in keeping with the destruction of everything good and virtuous in this nation, this year, God has been removed as the recipient of thanks on Thanksgiving.
On Wednesday, President Biden released his Thanksgiving proclamation for 2023.
For the first time in American history, the proclamation completely omitted any reference to God or faith.
As a nation founded on Judeo-Christian values, this disturbing omission shows how far we have strayed from the original spirit behind America’s national day of Thanksgiving.
The pilgrims who celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621 were devout Christians fleeing religious persecution. Their celebration followed a brutal first year in the New World, where nearly half their population perished. Despite unimaginable hardship, their faith remained unshaken. They credited God for sustaining them and bringing them their first successful harvest.
This theme carried through the centuries, with presidents honoring God in their Thanksgiving proclamations. George Washington implored all Americans to acknowledge God’s “providence,” and to “unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations.”
On Nov. 28, 1861, Lincoln declared that all government offices would be closed on Thanksgiving Day, writing in his proclamation, “No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things…I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”
Former President Donald Trump proclaimed in his 2020 Thanksgiving address, “On Thanksgiving Day, we thank God for the abundant blessings in our lives…I encourage all Americans to gather, in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our many blessings.”
While some president’s speeches may have been more devout than others over the years, Biden is the first president to delete God from his Thanksgiving proclamation altogether.
In his proclamation, Biden declared, “This Thanksgiving, we are grateful for our Nation and the incredible soul of America.”
Grateful to whom?
Gratitude without a recipient is like a fake Christmas gift under a department store tree. The wrapping is pretty, but it’s ultimately worthless and empty.
Sadly, Thanksgiving has been becoming a more secular holiday with every passing year, and it seems like Biden decided to put the final nail in the coffin.
If we cannot even name the ultimate Source in which all Americans, regardless of creed, are rooted historically, we are adrift from the moorings with no destination and no anchor to hold us firm.
