Thanksgiving Borne of Vexation and Humility

I’d like to share with you an excerpt from Scott Dodge‘s post from last year:

“Even given the popularity of Steven Spielberg’s movie Lincoln, not to mention Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, it seems that you can’t take too much for granted these days, especially when it comes to knowledge of history, which, along with the other humanities seems to be on the wane. So, for those who are unaware, Thanksgiving was declared and became a national holiday in the United States observed on the last Thursday of November in 1863, during one the most difficult times of our bloody Civil War. On 3 October 1863 President Lincoln declared that the the nation ‘observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.'”

He quotes Lincoln as saying the holiday should be about “humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience.” That’s a far cry from the holiday of gluttony we have now. But if you’re interested in the soul of food take a look at my recent hungry soul book list.

There’s more from Scott about Lincoln and the Confederates on Thanksgiving here.