THANKSGIVING 感恩節

“Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it
comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.” ~Edward
Sandford Martin

The Pilgrims, members of the English Separatist Church, fleeing religious
persecution, sailed to Holland. Not favoring the Dutch way of life, they set
sail again on the ship, Mayflower, and eventually landed at Plymouth,
Massachusetts on December 11, 1620. They established the Colony of
Plymouth.

That winter was extremely bitter and brutal. Tragically, of the original one
hundred and two pilgrims, forty-six devastated by starvation and diseases,
did not survive. The local American Native Indians, the Wampanoag tribe with
the chief, Massasoit, and another Native American, Squanto, compassionately
rendered the most needed aids to the Pilgrims by furnishing them with food
and clothing. 雪中送炭 Furthermore, the Indians taught them how to cultivate
crops, hunt and fish, as well as the skills to survive the unforgiving
climate and the harsh environment.

Fortunately, the following year’s harvest, as a result of good weather and
hard work, was very bountiful.

Being grateful to God and the Indian friends 飲水思源, 喝水不忘掘井人,
Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving, which is
believed to be held between September 21, 1621 and November 11, 1621. H.U.
WestermayerIt wrote, “The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts.
No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set
aside a day of thanksgiving.” Ninety Wampanoag Indians were invited to the
party, who brought along five deer to contribute to the feast, which also
included various fowls, lobster, fish, dried corn, turnips, spinach,
pumpkin, nuts and fruits. This harvest feast is generally acknowledged as
one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations. Rousseau: “Gratitude is a duty
which ought to be paid, but which none have a right to expect.” 人與人之間
重要在於感恩，也在於施恩莫望報。

According to The Center for Legislative Archives, President George
Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a
“Day of Publick Thanksgivin”. President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Proclamation
that Thanksgiving was regularly commemorated each year on the last Thursday
of November. In 1941, Congress passed a joint resolution and officially
declared Thanksgiving as a legal holiday, to be observed on the fourth
Thursday of November. President Roosevelt signed the resolution on December
26, 1941, thus establishing the fourth Thursday in November as the Federal
Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Thanksgiving Day is observed with church services. Parades are held in large
cities; the most famous one is the Macy Thanksgiving Day parade that takes
place in New York City. Traditionally, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving by
gathering at home with family members and friends for a lavish holiday
feast, which customarily includes oven roast turkey and stuffing, sweet
potato casserole, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie. They pray and
express thankfulness for the year’s blessings. Nigel Hamilton once said,
“Thanksgiving is a time of togetherness and gratitude.”

Thanksgiving Day, a religious and cultural celebration is a day to express
our great gratitude for all our blessings, to offer thanks to God. It is
also a time to show our gratitude and respect to our elders, families,
relatives and friends. Seneca: “Nothing is more honorable than a grateful
heart.”

Be grateful to those who gave you birth, they let you experience life. Be
grateful to those who raised you, they made you grow. Be grateful to those
who cared for you, they gave you warmth. Be grateful to those who encouraged
you, they empowered you. Be grateful to those who educated you, they
enlightened you. Be grateful to those who loved you, they made you realize
that love is priceless.

Melody Beattie: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we
have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order,
confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home,
a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace
for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

鴉有反哺之義, 羊知跪乳之恩。投我以木桃, 報之以瓊瑤。滴水之恩定當涌泉相報。知
恩圖報，善莫大焉。

About the author:

Dr. Patrick Lau was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to the U.S. after high
school. He retired from the VA Northern Indiana Heath Care System where he
served as Chief Radiologist and moved to Florida with his wife in 2011. He
was an active member & contributor of IACA and ICMA while in Indiana. Dr.
Lau is also a scholar of art and literature and a prolific writer, he has
been a dedicated columnist for Indy Asian American Times since 2010.