Thanksgiving: A Christian Holiday Part I

“Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who celebrate. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.” (Jeremiah 30:19)

"We teach about Thanksgiving from a purely historical perspective, not from a religious perspective." - Charles Ridgell, St. Mary's County Public Schools

If historical accuracy were of any value, schools could not possibly teach about Thanksgiving while ignoring the religious perspective. While secularists and revisionists vainly attempt to equate the modern American holiday with pre-European pagan “thanksgiving” festivals, any objective look at the history of Thanksgiving shows it to be a uniquely Christian Holiday.

The first observance that can be connected to the modern holiday occurred on December 4, 1619, when 38 English Settlers arrived at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia. The Plantation Charter held that the day of their arrival be celebrated as a day of Thanksgiving.

"We ordain that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned for plantation in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God." (Charter of Berkley Plantation)

The Plantation was eventually destroyed by an Indian Massacre on 1622.