Giving thanks to God: As American as turkey and pumpkin pie

Years ago when my wife Kim and I lived in China, we would gather with other Americans during the Thanksgiving holiday to celebrate. But it was difficult to find the typical foods associated with Thanksgiving, such as turkey and pumpkin.

Because both the peculiar-looking bird and the orange-colored squash are native to North America and not China, they are very uncommon among Chinese foods.

As Thanksgiving arrives this year, it is once again evident how much the holiday is a part of American culture. Not only is it the busiest traveling time of the year, but also the occasion for which we celebrate is deeply ingrained in our national psyche.

The journey of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower in the year 1620 helped lay the foundation for a new nation on earth, which in time would surpass other nations in wealth, power, progress and influence. It goes without saying that American history is far from perfect, but God’s blessings on this country have been a continual reason for responding to him with gratitude and thanksgiving.

It has been customary for American presidents to issue Thanksgiving proclamations encouraging the country’s citizens to observe the holiday.

George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide thanksgiving celebration in America. He marked Nov. 26, 1789, “as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.”

When Abraham Lincoln issued his Thanksgiving proclamation in 1863, he invited all his fellow citizens to set aside “a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

In his Thanksgiving proclamation in 1963, John F. Kennedy said: “Let us gather in sanctuaries dedicated to worship and in homes blessed by family affection to express our gratitude for the glorious gifts of God.”

All these proclamations continued the tradition begun by the Pilgrims of thanking God for his blessings.

Sure we have things to complain about, but so did the settlers who landed at Plymouth Rock: half of them died during the first winter.

But that did not prevent those who survived from giving thanks to God and celebrating his goodness the following year in 1621 when, with the help of local Native Americans, they grew an abundant harvest of food to see them through the second winter.

So, if you are blessed to be able enjoy a Thanksgiving meal this holiday season, do as the presidential proclamations urge by taking a moment to stop and give God thanks.

For doing so is as American as the turkey and pumpkin pie we eat!