M^^^um CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WiLLARD FiSKE Endowment The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027223753 Cornell University Library PN 4305.T5S41 Thanksgiving 3 1924 027 223 753 ®ur Hmerican Ibolibaijs THANKSGIVING OUR AMERICAN HOLIDAYS Edited by ROBERT HAVEN SCHAUFFLER AND OTHERS A SERIES o£ anthologies for the use of students and teachers in schools and colleges; consisting of the best verse, plays, stories, addresses, special articles, orations, etc. Applicable to the holidays listed as follows: CHRISTMAS December 2sth DEMOCRACY DAYS EASTER ... March or April GOOD WILL DAYS .... HALLOWE'EN October }ist INDEPENDENCE DAY July 4th LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY . . . February 12th THE MAGIC OF BOOKS . . Book Week THE MAGIC OF MUSIC . . . Music Week MEMORIAL DAY May 30th MOTHER'S DAY Second Sunday in May PAN-AMERICAN DAY April j^th PEACE DAYS ROOSEVELT DAY .... October 27th THANKSGIVING .Last Thursday in November WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY . February 22nd iDttt SLmttitan ^oUtia?£( THANKSGIVING ITS ORIGIN, CELEBRATION AND SIGNIFICANCE AS RE- LATED IN PROSE AND VERSE EDITED BY ROBERT HAVEN SCHAUFFLER NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1954 COPYRIGHT, 1907, By DODD, MEAD & COMPANY F PRINTED IN U.S.A. NOTE The selections from the works of James Rus- sell Lowell, John G. Whittier, Jane G. Austin and Kate Douglas Wiggin, are used by special permission of Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Company. We also wish to extend our thanks to Messrs. Little, Brown & Co., The Century Co., The Youth's Companion, and others who have kindly allowed us to reprint selections from works bearing their copyright. CONTENTS PAGE Preface vii Introduction xi ORIGIN Thanksgiving in America . . . May Lowe i The Feast of Harvest . . . E. C. Stedman 14 Ballad of the Thanksgiving Pilgrim Clinton Scollard 18 The First Thanksgivinp Day Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith 21 The First Thanksgiving Day Alice W. Brotherton 27 Grandma's Thanksgiving Story Alice Lotherington 31 The First Thanksgiving . Arthur Ginterman 34 The First Thanksgiving Day of New England Jane G. Austin 37 Festival Days Harry C. Davis 52 Two Notable Thanksgivings The Youth's Companion 55 The Thanksgiving in Boston Harbor Hezekiah Butterworth 61 CELEBRATION The Pumpkin John G. Whittier {&, Jericho Bob Anna E. King A Thanksgiving Fable . . Oliver Herford 78 Thanksgiving Phoebe Gary 78 Thanksgiving Day . . Lydia Maria Child 80 CONTENTS PAGE Fbom " Work and Play in Leyden " William E. Griffis 80 Thanksgiving Philosophy Charlotte W. Thurston 83 Thanksgiving Dinners . . . . E. H. Arr 87 Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pies Margaret Songster 97 Thanksgiving .... Hannah E. Garey 100 Ann Mary * * * * lynjiin 103 Selection I. G. Whittier /f20^ The Twilight of Thanksgiving — -^ William D. Kelly 12. Polly's Thanksgiving . . . A. C. Stoddard 129 Thanksgiving Day . Thomas Bailey Aldrich 132 Thanksgiving Day .... Henry Alford 134 An Old Time Thanksgiving Helen Evertson Smith 135 THE SPIRIT OF THANKSGIVING The Thanksgiving Guest Louise Chandler Moulton 1^ Harvest Hymn J. G. Whittier 153 Thanksgiving F. R. Havergal 154 Two Festivals . . . Lucy Larcom 156 John Inglefield's Thanksgiving Nathaniel Hawthorne 159 The " Lily's " Thanksgiving Mrs. Dawson M. Phelps 167 The Thanksgiving Sermon . . C. Mathews 173 The Dinner C. Mathews 187 Thanksgiving .... Jeanie R. Sherman 194 Thanksgiving Hymn Anon. 195 Thanksgiving Emily R. Jones ig6 Farmer John's Thanksgiving Isaac F. Eaton 196 To November G. W. Adams ig8 Margie's Thanksgiving . . E. S. Bumstead 200 CONTENTS FACE Old New England Thanksgiving Harriet Beecher Stowe OGS^ We Thank Thee . . Ralph Waldo Emerson \2o3 Give Thanks for What? . . W. F. Croffut Z04 Something to be Thankful for Clara J. Denton 206 Giving Thanks Anon. 207 Thanksgivinu Day Anon. 208 THE THANKSGIVING SEASON Ode to Autumn John Keats 213 Indian Summer . . . . E. S. Bumstead 214 In November Susan K. Phillips 215 A Day of the Indian Summer Sarah H. Whitman 216 The Indian Summer . . . John H. Bryant 217 EXERCISES In Honor of Thanksgiving Lizzie M. Hadley 221 {For twelve boys and twenty-one girls) Thanksgiving Exercise . Lizzie M. Hadley 227 Granny's Story .... Emily H. Miller 23s We Thank Thee Anon. 238 Poetic Responses Anon. 239 Thanksgiving in the Past and Present Marion S. Blaisdell 243 THANKSGIVING. PREFACE. Every autumn in school and home recurs the need for a collection of literature on Thanks- giving, — an anthology comprehensive enough to include all the best that has been written about this intensely American holiday. For years the imperative ungratified demand for such a book has almost suggested a dark con- spiracy among literary folk, — a conspiracy which the present volume is intended to thwart. It brings to children of all ages all the best poems, essays, plays and stories of Thanksgiving. And its scope is yet wider. The Introduction gives a rapid view of the holiday's origin, its derivation from ancient fes- tivals; its development, its spirit and its sig- nificance. This part of the book endeavors to be as suggestive as possible to parents and teachers who are personally conducted to the sources for the study of their subject. vn INTRODUCTION IX INTRODUCTION While Thanksgiving in its present form is a distinctively American holiday, it did not spring Minerva-like from the brain of Gov- ernor Bradford in 1621 as some imagine. On the contrary we may trace its origin back through the ages and the nations to the land of the Canaanites from whom the Children of Israel copied many of their customs. In the book of Judges we read of the Canaanites : " And they went out into the field, and gath- ered their vineyards, and trode the grapes and held festival, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink." This vintage or harvest celebration appeared later among the Hebrews, as an act of wor- ship to Jehovah and was called The Feast of Tabernacles because everyone lived in booths or tents during the festival in memory of the years when the nation had had no set- tled home. In Deuteronomy, Moses transmitted these di- rections about the holiday: " Thou shalt keep the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in from thy threshing-floor and from thy wine- press ; and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, xi xii THANKSGIVING and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man- servant and thy maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a feast unto the Lord thy God . . . because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the work of thine hands, and thou shalt be altogether joyful." ifc'-iS-i'T In Leviticus the command is " When ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord . . . and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days." l3i3f-4o Nothing could be more fitting and spontan- eous than these thanksgivings after harvest which constituted the principal festival of the Jewish year. In the book of Nehemiah the Lord commanded, " Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths. . . . So the people went forth and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water gate. . , . And there was very great gladness." ^•.\'i-'v1 The harvest festival of ancient Greece, called the Thesmophoria, was akin to the Jewish INTRODUCTION xiii Feast of Tabernacles. It was the feast of Demeter, the foundress of agriculture and goddess of harvests, and was celebrated in Athens, in November, by married women only. Two wealthy and distinguished ladies were chosen to perform the sacred function in the name of the others and to prepare the sacred meal, which corresponded to our Thanksgiv- ing dinner. On the first day of the feast, amid great mirth and rejoicing, the women went in procession to the promontory of Colias and celebrated their Thanksgiving for three days in the temple of Demeter. On their return a fes- tival occurred for three days in Athens, sad at first but gradually growing into an orgy of mirth and dancing. Here a cow and a sow were offered to Demeter, besides fruit and honey- combs. The symbols of the fruitful goddess were poppies and ears of corn, a basket of fruit and a little pig. The Romans worshipped this harvest deity under the name of Ceres. Her festival, which occurred yearly on October 4th, was called the Cerelia. It began with a fast among the com- mon people who offered her a sow and the first cuttings of the harvest. There were proces- sions in the fields with music and rustic sports and the ceremonies ended with the inevitable feast of thanksgiving. In England the autumnal festival was called xiv THANKSGIVING the Harvest Home * which may be traced back to the Saxons of the time of Egbert. " It was known in Scotland as the Kern," writes Walsh in his Curiosities of Popular Customs, "and was a peculiarly secular method of cele- brating the close of the harvest. This still has its local survivals, although they are fast passing away before the modern innovation of a general harvest festival for the whole parish, to which all the farmers are expected to con- tribute, and which their laborers may freely attend. This festival is commenced with a special service in the village church, beautifully decorated for the occasion with fruit and flowers, followed by a dinner in a tent or in some building sufficiently large and continued with rural sports, and sometimes includes a tea-drinking for the women. Nevertheless, as Canon Atkinson says, we cannot even yet use the past tense in speaking of the old harvest-home. ' In the northern part of Northumberland,' writes Henderson in his Folk-Lore of North England, ' the fes- tival takes place at the close of the reaping, not the ingathering. When the sickle is laid down and the last sheaf of corn set on end, it is said that they have " got the kern." The reapers announce the fact by loud shout- * A delightful description of a Harvest Home Sup- per is given in the 53rd chapter of George Eliot's Adam Bede. INTRODUCTION xv ing, and an image crowned with wheat-ears and dressed in a white frock and colored rib- bons is hoisted on a pole by the tallest and strongest men of the party. All circle round this " kern-baby " or harvest-queen and proceed to the barn, where they set the image on high, and proceed to do justice to the harvest-sup- per.' In some places ' this nodding sheaf, the symbol of the god,' is quite small, fashioned with much care and neatness, and plaited with wonderful skill; in others it is large and cum- bersome, taking a strong man's strength to bear it. The manner of escorting the last load to the barn varied in different places. In many parts of England it was borne in a wagon known as the hock-cart. A pipe and tabor went merrily sounding in front, and the reapers, male and female, tripped around in a hand-in-hand ring, shouting and singing. Herrick's description shows how ancient is this custom: Come forth, my Lord, to see the cart Drest up with all the country art. The horses, mares and frisking fillies Clad all in linen white as lilies. The harvest swains and wenches bound For joy, to see the hock-cart crown'd. About the cart heare how the rout Of rural younglings raise the shout; Pressing before, some coming after. Those with a shout, and these with laughter. Some blesse the cart; some kisse the sheaves; xvi THANKSGIVING Some prank them up with oaken leaves: Some crosse the fill-horse; some with great Devotion stroak the home-borne wheat; While other rusticks, lesse attent To prayers than to merryment, Run after with their breeches rent. In some provinces it was a favorite practical joke to lay an ambuscade along the road, and from the vantage-point of some tree or hill to drench the hock-party with water. An old song with many variants still sur- vives at the bearing home of the last load. Its usual form runs as follows : Harvest home ! harvest home ! We've ploughed, we've sowed, [We've reaped, we've mowed. We've brought home every load. Hip, hip, hip, harvest-home ! In Herefordshire a final handful of grain was left uncut. But it was tied up and erected under the name of a mare, and the reapers then, one after another, threw their sickles at it, to cut it down. The successful individual called out, ' I have her ! ' ' What have you ? ' cried the rest. ' A mare, a mare, a mare ! ' he replied. ' What will you do with her? ' was then asked. ' We'll send her to John Snooks,' or whatever other name, referring to some neighboring farmer who had not yet got all his grain cut down. INTRODUCTION xvii This piece of rustic pleasantry was called ' Crying the Mare.' It evidently refers to the time when, our country lying all open in com- mon fields, and the corn consequently exposed to the depredations of the wild mares, the sea- son at which it was secured from their ravages was a time of rejoicing, and of exulting over a tardier neighbor. Clarke in his Travels (1812) gives this ac- count of a harvest-home festival in Cambridge : 'At the Hawkie, as it is called, or Harvest- Home, I have seen a clown dressed in woman's clothes, having his face painted, his head dec- orated with ears of corn, and bearing about with him other emblems of Ceres, carried in a wagon, with great pomp and loud shouts, through the streets, the horses being covered with white sheets ; and, when I inquired the meaning of the ceremony, was answered by the people that 'they were drawing the Har- vest Queen.' " In addition to this fixed autumnal festival, extraordinary feasts were proclaimed in Eng- land upon special occasions such as the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the discovery of Guy Fawkes's " gunpowder plot " and the recovery of George III from his fit of insanity. In fact these days of thanksgiving soon grew so numerous and so hilarious as to interfere with the more serious affairs of life, and Edward VI finally decreed it " lawful to every husband- xviii THANKSGIVING man to labor on those holy days that come in time of harvest." Even during the Commonwealth under Cromwell more than one hundred feast days were observed in the course of the year and Latimer complained that when he went to preach in a certain church on a holy day he found the village deserted, the church locked, and the people all gone a-maying. These cus- toms shocked the austere souls of the Puritans, but when they fled to Holland they grew used to the more respectable and religious fast and feast days of the Dutch. And so, being in the blood of America's first settlers, the custom reappeared early in our land. In the records of the expedition under Frobisher, which settled the first English col- ony in America, there is this entry: " On Monday morning. May twenty-sev- enth, 1578, aboard the Ayde, we received all, the communion by the minister of Gravesend, prepared as good Christians toward God, and resolute men for all fortunes; and toward night we departed toward Tilbury Hope. Here we highly prayed God, and altogether, upon our knees, gave him due humble and hearty thanks, and Maister Wolfall . . . made unto us a goodbye sermon, exhorting all especially to be thankful to God for his strange and marvelous deliverance in those dangerous places." INTRODUCTION xix This is but a specimen of the many services of thanksgiving held during the perilous pion- eer days. But the first authentic harvest festival was held by the Pilgrims in 1621. During the winter the little colony had been sorely tried. Only fifty-five of the one hundred and one set- tlers remained alive. They had suffered cold, hunger and disease, and, as one of them con- fesses, they had been terrified by the roar of " lyons." Wolves had " sat on their tayles and grinned " at them, while the Indians had proved still more formidable. " The spring of 1621 opened," writes Love,* " and the seed was sown in the fields. They watched it with anxiety, for well they knew that their lives depended on that harvest. So the days flew by and the autumn came. Never in Holland nor in Old England had they seen the like. For the most part they had worked at trades during their exile; they were now farmers, as their ancestors had been. Bounteous Nature, with the pride of a milliner at a fall opening, spread all her treasures be- fore them. Their little plats had been blessed by the sunshine and the showers, and round about them were many evidences of the friend- liness of the untilled soil. The woodland, * The Fast and Thanksgiving Days of New England, by W. De Loss Love. XX THANKSGIVING what a revelation it must have been to them, arrayed in its autumnal garments, and swarm- ing with game which had been concealed from them during the summer! The Pilgrim from over sea fell in love then and there with New England, and the bride, clad in her cloth of gold, had been waiting many years for such a suitor. So it happened that there was a wed- ding feast." In Mourt's Relation is the following account of America's first harvest festival of thanks- giving: "Our harvest being gotten in, our Governour sent foure men on fowling, that so we might after a more speciall manner re- joyce together, after we had gathered the fruit of our labours ; they foure in one day killed as much fowle, as with a little help beside, served the company almost a weeke, at which time amongst other recreations, we exercised our Armes, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest King Massasoyt, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deere, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governour, and upon the Captaine (Standish) and others. And although it be not always so plentifull, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodnesse of God, we are so farre from INTRODUCTION xxi want, that we often wish you partakers of our plentie." * Thus the first thanksgiving festival was cele- brated in America and by little and little the custom spread, and its influence deepened un- til it has become a national holiday, proclaimed by the President, reproclaimed by the Gov- ernor of each State, and observed on the third Thursday in November by every good Amer- ican and true. Perhaps the spirit of the festival has never been more happily expressed than by George Washington in his Thanksgiving Proclama- tion t of 1789. " Whereas it is the duty of all nations to ac- knowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor; and whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint Committee, requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of * For a tempting account of the Pilgrims' Thanks- giving menu consult " Thanksgiving " in The Year's Festivals by Helen_ P. Patten.i t For a valuable collection of similar papers see Proclamations for Thanksgiving, ed. by T. B. Hough. xxii THANKSGIVING government for their safety and happiness;" " Now therefore, I do recommend and as- sign Thursday, the twenty-sixth day of No- vember next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be ; that we may then all unite in rendering un- to him our sincere and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the people of this country, previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish Constitutions of Government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately in- stituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful know- ledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors, which He has been pleased to confer upon us." " And, also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in INTRODUCTION xxiii public or private stations, to perform our sev- eral and relative duties properly and punctu- ally; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us,) and to bless them with good governments, peace and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science, among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best." R. H. S. I ORIGIN THANKSGIVING THANKSGIVING IN AMERICA MAY LOWE Thanksgiving Day, as instituted in New England, may have gained an impetus in the fact that while the Pilgrims lived at Leyden (they having quitted England for Holland, where they lived ten years,) they_were wont to observe the manner in which their Dutch friends ceTeBrated, on October 3rd,. their de- hverance from the Spaniards, This was the most popular festival of the Dutch, except the Kirmess, and was kept as both a religious and a social holiday, though it soon degenerated into merely a day of merriment. The chief dish at dinner upon that day was a Spanish hodge-podge, a stew of meat and vegetables. After observing for ten years this Thanks- giving Day in Holland, it is small wonder that after the Pilgrims had come to America, they should establish a time of thanksgiving and re- joicing for their first harvest, which had yield- ed well. After leaving Holland, they had a perilous voyage, but at last, after many dangers and hardships, they landed, on December 21st, I 2 THANKSGIVING 1620, on Plymouth Rock. Until such time as they migl:;t build houses and establish them- selves upon the land, they retained the May- flower, the vessel in which they had sailed, as their home. The men went ashore every morning, to work, returning to the little ship, at night. They built a " common house " to which the sick and dying were transferred; placed their four little cannon in a fort, which they built on a hill close by; built two rows of houses, with a wide street between ; and lastly landed their stores and provisions. Then the whole company landed, toward the last of March, and in April the Mayflower sailed away. The winter had been a hard and bitter one.; At one time all but six or seven of the Pilgrims! were sick; and when spring came, more than; half their number had died. Shortly after the landing of the Pilgrims,' while searching for a suitable place in which to build their houses, they one day came upon some deserted Indial^^ huts, in which they found some baskets filled with corn. From this supply they saved enough to plant their first year's crop. Samoset, who had seen Englishmen along the coast of Maine, and Squanto, who had himself been in England, and the great chief Massasoit, all visited the newcomers and ex- tended a welcome to them. Friendly relations THANKSGIVING IN AMERICA 3 were thus established with the Indians, and a treaty of peace was contracted. The Pilgrims owed much, both at that time, and for years after, to the red men for instructions as to cli- mate, planting of grain and procuring of game. In the spring of 1621, their seed was sown, and throughout its growing was watched most anxiously. For well they realized that upon this first harvest depended the prosperity of the little colony, and even their lives. To their great joy, the harvest gathered in, in October, was beautiful; and carrying out, no doubt, the idea of the English harvest home, which lasted a week. Governor Bradford ordered a three days' feast and celebration, to which were bid- den Chief Massasoit and their other Indian friends. Wild turkeys, geese, ducks and water fowl, fish, especially cod and shell fish; barley loaves corn bread and vegetables, no doubt formed the chief viands at their feast, not to speak of the five deer, brought in as an offering by the Indians. By a great many persons, this celebration is believed to be the first Thanksgiving, from which we date our celebration of the day, but well-known writers deny this, one saying: " There is no record of any special religious service during this week of feasting." But little did the colonists, while feasting 4 THANKSGIVING and making merry, think of the hard times ahead of them. The year 1622 was filled with misfortune. A short time after the harvest festival, the ship " Fortune" arrived, but the Only fortune she brought to the Pilgrims was a number of colonists, for she left with them no provisions or supplies. But the first colonists did not mind this, for they thought their bountiful crop was enough for all. So Govenor Winslow sent back, when the " Fortune " returned to England, a glori- ous account of their prosperity. He was re- warded by having the "Charity" and the " Swan " arrive in the summer, crowded with some very undesirable people, who formed the Weymouth colony. They brought no sup- plies, and soon not only ate up the supplies of their hosts, but caused^ such an unfriendly feel- ing among thesLndians that the Pilgrims were afraid to try to add more cultivated land. So they had to content themselves with obtaining supplies from the few fishing vessels which passed and by an occasional trade with the Indians, but this was not sufficient to feed the increased colony. The harvest, that fall, did not yield so well as that of the year before, and the poor Pilgrims had neither the heart nor the food for a second week of feasting. Food became scarcer every day, and the gloomy winter passed, and each one was glad to see the spring come. But, although hope THANKSGIVING IN AMERICA 5 sprang up in their hearts, as the time for planting approached, they were again doomed to bitter disappointment. They finished their planting in April, and hoped that with the harvesting of this crop their hardships would be over. But the third week in May a drought set in, and the growing crop was withered and al- most destroyed. This drought lasted until July, and for relief in their great need, a day was appointed for special fasting and prayer, and after nine hours' prayer, with great joy the Pilgrims saw clouds spread over the sky, from which descended, the next morning, a gentle rain, which revived the corn and brought hope again into the hearts of the col- onists. Captain Miles Standish returned, a few days after this feast, from a little voyage which he had taken, in the hope of procuring provisions. He brought not only food, but the glad news that a ship had been seen bear- ing in that direction. The colonists thought it only right, in ac- knowledgment of all these blesings, to hold a public service of prayer and thanksgiving. On the 30th of July this thanksgiving was held, and the day afterward the " Anne " an- chored, containing many of those friends, that for lack of room, the Mayflower had been obliged to leave behind at Leyden. 6 THANKSGIVING We may justly claim this feast as the origin of our Thanksgiving Day, not only because, as stated before, it was both a religious and a social celebration, but also because it was the first time in the history of America that the Governor appointed a day for thanksgiving. All former observances of special days had been appointed by the church. But, like the three days' feast of 1621, this celebration in 1623, although without doubt the origin of our national Thanksgiving Day, may be looked upon as merely a local observ- ance, being held by only the Plymouth colony. They, however, were the forerunners of other more or less local celebrations in Massachu- setts, and gradually in other colonies, for in 1630 a public Thanksgiving Day was ob- served in Boston, by the Bay colony, and again in 1631. In that year the colonists, who had been comparatively prosperous, met with reverses. Their crop failed, and they were soon reduced to the same want which had befallen the Ply- mouth colony, nearly ten years before. The women, brave as the men, learned (probably from the Indians, who taught the Pilgrims a great many useful things) how to make a kind of flour from acorns. The children dug clams and mussels ; but the ground was ha'd and frozen, and the few shell-fish they could THANKSGIVING IN AMERICA 7 obtain did not go far toward increasing their supplies ; for their stock of corn was now almost used up. The " Lyon" which lay at the Isle of Shoals, was hired by Governor Winthrop, to go back to England and bring a supply of food, but winter came and the vessel had not yet re- turned. The increasing cold weather caused a scarcity of game, while the snow hid the acorns and ground nuts, which had become their bread-stuff. The small supply of corn dwindled each day, and it was at this point, as the story goes, that on the verge of starva- tion, five kernels of corn were appointed to each colonist, as a daily ration. A fast day was appointed ; that is, not a day merely for the abstinence of food, for, in the condition of affairs, that, were unnecessary, but a special day of prayer. To the great joy of the colonists, just at this time, when they were in the greatest need, the " Lyon," filled with provisions, sailed into the harbor. The appointed fast day was turned into one of thanksgiving and rejoicing, and so on Febru- ary 22nd, 1 63 1, occured in Boston the first Thanksgiving Day of which any written re- cord remains in the Colonial Records of Mas- sachusetts. The first record of a joint observance was when, in 1632, Governor Winthrop of Massa- 8 THANKSGIVING chusetts Bay appointed a day of thanksgiving, and asked the Governor of Plymouth colony to unite in its celebration. Though in the next fifty years there were as many as twenty-two public thanksgiving days appointed in Massachusetts, usually in October or November, after the gathering in of the harvest, or to celebrate some public ben- efit, it did not become a regular holiday for a long time afterward. In 1677 the first regular Thanksgiving Proclamation was printed in Massachusetts. As people of other creeds began to settle in Plymouth colony, over whom the Puritan church had no authority, it was thought neces- sary to have a law to govern public fasts and thanksgivings, and which should render the day a more general one. Therefore, on No- vember 15th, 1636, this law was framed: " That it be in the power of the Governor and assistants to command solemn dales of humiliacon by fasting, etc., and also thanks- giving as occasion shall be offered." So, you see, that even this law only called for an occasional celebration, and not a regu- lar annual observance. After the passage of this law, judging from the data furnished by the church records, which, beside the word- ing of the law itself, is the only evidence re- maining, we find that the civil authority did not take the matter entirely out of the hands THANKSGIVING IN AMERICA c/ of the church, especially in Plymouth col- ony. They rather combined with the church, for instead of " ordering " the appointment of a certain day, they " proposed " or " desired " the appointment to the churches. We find that there was no civil appointment of a harvest festival in Plymouth colony before 1668, although such a festival, had, beyond doubt, become customary in the several com- munities. But in the Plymouth Records of that year we find the first Thanksgiving pro- clamation which makes mention of the harvest in these words: " It hath pleased God in some comfortable measure to bless us in the fruites of the earth." November 2Sth was the day appointed. The form of recommendation in Ply- mouth colony in 1689 goes to show that it had become an annual custom, and even in 1678 there is good evidence that Plymouth church was observing an annual Thanksgiving Day, usually in the autumn. That year the day ap- pointed was November 6th. The next year, February 25th was the day, and the appoint- ment was made by the church while that of the following year, October 20th, was made by the court. We find that this system of appointment, one year by the court and another year by the church, prevailed from 1668, and was observed annually, with the exception of some few 10 THANKSGIVING years, when for a special cause, as for instance, during King Philip's War, it was interrupted for the one year. Before 1668, when the church alone exer- cised the power of appointment, there is no doubt that in a good many cases, where re- cords of a Thanksgiving celebration cannot be found, their absence is due to the fact that, on account of some public misfortune, the day was kept as a fast day, and one of mourning, instead of one of rejoicing. And after com- bining with the civil authorities in the ap- pointment, the church had so much influence that this peculiar view was still carried out. The other New England colonies soon fol- lowed the lead of Massachusetts in the matter of keeping Thanksgiving Day. In Connecti- cut, especially, the church did not care to ex- ercise so much authority, and the appointing power was early given over entirely to the government. In this colony, also, the observ- ance of the day was more regular than in Mas- sachusetts Bay or Plymouth colonies, for with one exception, records are extant for every year since 1647. This was in 1675, when on account of Indian massacres, no celebration was held in Connecticut. Two proclamation? have been found before that date, the earlier, and no doubt the first proclamation ever is- sued, in Connecticut, being dated September i8th, 1639. THANKSGIVING IN AMERICA ii The cause of this difference between the col- onies Is, perhaps, owing to the fact that the peo- ple of Connecticut were more cheerful than those of their sister colonies, and found many a cause for gratitude, even in years of general misfortune. Thus, though to the Pilgrims of Plymouth or to the Puritans of Boston, may be traced the origin of Thanksgiving Day, the civil au- thority and constancy of the people of Connect- icut have brought it down to us, not as kept in Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colony, as an occasional day for a special cause, but as an annual celebration. jn 1 644, the first record of a public Dutch Tha nksgiving Day ii^nQJed, the day being sCc apart in gratitude for the safe return, of the Dutch soldiers, after a._b.attle-_with the Con- necticuFlndians. The next year, a treaty of peace with The Indians was celebrated by a public Thanksgiving Day, and again in 1654 the same method was taken to express the gratitude of the residents of the New Nether- lands, for a peace established between them- selves and England. Twenty years later, a regular day was set aside, the council sending out the proclamation to the clergymen, whom they asked to an- nounce it, the previous Sunday, to their con- gregations, that all might be prepared fittinp-- ly to celebrate the occasion. There is reasc:i 12 THANKSGIVING to believe that this celebration was more of a harvest festival than the first ones had been. In 1864, Dominie Brown of Wyltwyck ask- ed for an established annual Thanksgiving, but there are no records to show that the desire was carried out, though from 1690 to 1710 cel- ebrations were held almost every year, being called thank-days, instead of Thanksgivmg 3ays. When New York came under the sway of England, the English governors followed the example of their Dutch predecessors. The earliest mention of Thanksgiving in the records of Rhode Island Plantation is in 1687. But attempts to celebrate Thanksgiving Day in Rhode Island did not prove very success- ful. Whether the people were ungrateful or only stubborn, is not known, but it is said that when Governor Andros ordered them to ap- pear, to celebrate certain days, which he set apart as days of thanksgiving, the order was so contemptuously carried out that several per- sons were arrested for disobedience of the King's ordinances. During the Revolutionary War, the people and the Continental army observed an annual Thanksgiving Day, by the proclamation of the Continental Congress. After the peace it was discontinued until 1789. * * * Washington's Proclamation was occasionally followed by other Presidents. THANKSGIVING IN AMERICA 13 About the year 1830 the Governor of New York appointed a day, and other Northern Governors quickly followed, and in these States the custom has, since then, been an an- nual one. In the South , Thanksgiving Day was prac- dcally u nknown until_ in 1 85 5, _^ when Governor Johns o?"Virginia urged in a letter to the State Legislature, their recognition of the day, that he might issue a proclamation. He was advised not to issue it, as most of the citizens regarded this day as a relic of Puritanic bigotry. His action, however, aroused public notice, and a great dispute arose. In 1857 Governor Wise, successor to Johns, without asking advice, is- sued a proclamation, and the people throwing aside their prejudice, celebrated the day with true Southern hospitality. The next year eight Southern States, through their Governors' proclamations, kept the day; but the coming on of the Civil War soon put an end to its cel- ebration in the South. The celebration of the day was thus, for sev- eral years, although regularly observed, mere- ly a State affair, when the troubles connected with the Civil War suspended it for a time, as fast days were more in accord with the gener- al feeling than feast days. But in 1864, Presi- dent Lincoln issued a proclamation, appoint- ing the fourth Thursday of November, with a view of having the day kept, thereafter, an- :4 THANKSGIVING nually without interruption. The President's assassination, the next year, almost caused the suspension of his own rule, but after being prevailed upon, President Johnson appointed the last Thursday in November; and since that time each President has followed his ex- ample. The Governors of the several States, upon receiving the President's proclamation, issue their own, naming the sams day. Thus we may say that since 1865, Thanksgiving Day has been an annual national holiday. It is the only religious festival celebrated in the United States by virtue of the authority of the civil government. At the present day. Thanksgiving Day ranks first among holidays in New England. In the Middle States perhaps the religious ele- ment of the day is as well observed, but in New England it is preeminently the family festi- val. THE FEAST OF HARVEST EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN The fair earth smiled and turned herself and woke, And to the Sun with nuptial greeting said : — " I had a dream, wherein it seemed men broke THE FEAST OF HARVEST 15 A sovran league, and long years fought and bled. Till down my sweet sides ran my children's gore. And all my beautiful garments were made red. And all my fertile fields were thicket- grown. Nor could thy dear light reach me through the air; At last a voice cried, ' Let them strive no more ! " Then music breathed, and lo! from my de- spair I awake to joy, — yet would not joy alone! " For, hark ! I hear a murmur on the meads, — Where as of old my children seek my face, — The low of kine, the peaceful tramp of steeds. Blithe shouts of men in many a pastoral place, The noise of tilth through all my goodliest land; And happy laughter of a dusky race Whose brethren lift them from their ancient toil. Saying: 'The year of jubilee has come; Gather the gifts of Earth with equal hand ; Henceforth ye too may share the birthright soil, The corn, the wine, and all the harvest-home.' £6 THANKSGIVING " O, my dear lord, my radiant bridegroom, look! Behold their joy who sorrowed in my dreams, — The sword a share, the spear a pruning-hook ; Lo, I awake, and turn me toward thy beams Upon my fruitful places in full streams ! Let there be yield for every living thing; The land is fallow, — let there be increase After the darkness of the sterile night; Ay, let us twain a festival of Peace Prepare, and hither all my nations bring ! " The fair Earth spake: the glad Sun speeded forth. Hearing her matron words, and backward drave To frozen caves the icy Wind of the North, — And bade the South Wind from the tropic wave Bring watery vapors over river and plain, — And bade the East Wind cross her path, and lave The lowlands, emptying there her laden mist, — And bade the Wind of the West, the best wind, blow After the early and the latter rain, — And beamed himself, and oft the sweet Earth kissed. While her swift servitors sped to and fro. THE FEAST OF HARVEST 17 Forthwith the troop that, at the beck of Earth, Foster her children, brought a glorious store Of viands, food of immemorial worth. Her earliest gifts, her tenderest evermore. First came the Silvery Spirit, whose marshalled files Climb up the glades in billowy breakers hoar. Nodding their crests, — and at his side there sped The Golden Spiritr^ whose yellow harvests trail Across the continents and fringe the isles. And freight men's argosies where'er they sail: O, what a wealth of sheaves he there out- spread ! Came the dear Spirit whom Earth doth love the best, Fragrant of clover-bloom and new- mown hay. Beneath whose mantle weary ones find rest, On whose green skirts the little children play: She bore the food our patient cattle crave. Next, robed in silk, with tassels scattering spray. Followed the generous Spirit of the Maize, — And many a kindred shape of high renown i8 THANKSGIVING Bore in the clustering grape, the fruits that wave On orchard branches or in garden's blaze, And those the wind-shook forest hurtles down. Even thus they laid a great and marvellous feast. And Earth her children summoned joyously. Throughout that goodliest land wherein had ceased The vision of battle, and with glad hands free These took their fill, and plenteous measures poured. Beside, for those who dwelt beyond the sea; Praise, like an increase, upward rose to Heaven For that full harvest, — and the autumnal Sun Stayed long above, — and ever at the board, Peace, white-robed angel, held the high seat given. And War far off withdrew his visage dun. BALLAD OF THE THANKSGIVING FlLr GRIM CLINTON SCOLLARD The purple hills of Kirkland Stood up against the mom, BALLAD OF THE PILGRIM 19 As o'er the rutty road there strode A pilgrim lean and lorn. The wood-crowned hills of Kirkland, They notched the wan blue sky. As toward that plodding pilgrim came A horseman urging by. " I prithee, weary pilgrim, Now whither dost thou roam?" " I seek a gabled farmstead set Amid these hills of home. " I seek an ancient rooftree set Amid these uplands gray." " God give thee luck," the horseman cried " This f rore Thanksgiving day ! " The quiet hills of Kirkland, They saw, when broad noon shone Above the fair Oriska vale, This pilgrim toiling on. The frosted asters waved and tossed Before him and behind; The journeying silken milkweed seed Went capering down the wind. The hemlocks preened their night-dark plumes As up and up he clomb ; The same old rook-calls welcomed him Back to the hills of home. 20 THANKSGIVING High on the hills of Kirkland Where hale the North-wind roared, O gay were they that grouped about The heaped Thanksgiving board 1 And yet the brooding mother. She hid with smiles the tear For one whose lips she had not kissed This many a lonely year. For one whose wander-lust had led His roving spirit far, Until she dreamed he slept beneath The clear Alaskan star. Hark, at the door a summons ! A step upon the sill! O mother-eyes abrim with joy. And mother-heart athrill! And O ye hills of Kirkland, In dull November gray. Ye never saw a gladder sight Upon Thanksgiving day! THE FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN and NORA A. SMITH Nearly three hundred years ago, a great many of the people in England were very un- happy because their king would not let them pray to God as they liked. The king said they ' must use the same prayers that he did; and if /they would not do this, they were often thrown / into prison, or perhaps driven away from home. I " Let us go away from this country," said I the unhappy Englishmen to each other ; and so they left their homes, and went far off to a ^country called Holland. It was about this time that they began to call themselves " Pil- grims." Eilg rims, yon know, a r e peuple whu ' ai«--alway5_Jxa3ieliiig--±a.-£njd_-Something--tb€y Iqvp, nr t" find a lajid-wbai:^--tbey-ca.ti.-be-bap- pier-;-aHd-4hese-ERglis}nnen and women were journeying', they said, " from place to place, toward heaven, their dearest country." In Holland, the Pilgrims were quiet and happy for a while, but they were very poor; and when the children began to grow up, they were not like English children, but talked Dutch, like the little ones of Holland, an