Is Thanksgiving a Christian holiday?
Here's the answer:
Thanksgiving does have some Christian roots!
Although the pilgrims that came from England to the United States on the Mayflower were the first people to celebrate Thanksgiving in America, it didn’t actually become a national holiday until much later.
In 1789, George Washington decided that U.S. citizens should use the last Thursday in November as a time to thank God for all the blessings He had given them. He sent out a proclamation (a special announcement) saying that God was the One who gave the United States a chance to be a nation, so the people should thank God for that. He also told the people that God was the One who gave them food, protection, freedom, and a government.
Years later, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday. Now the United States celebrates Thanksgiving every year on the last Thursday of November.
President Washington was right—God has given us everything we have! There’s not a thing we own that God has not given us (Philippians 4:19). And there’s not a good thing that happens to us that God hasn’t planned for us (James 1:17). We should thank Him for that not just on Thanksgiving, but every day of the year!
Bible Truth
"Let us come to him and give him thanks. Let us praise him with music and song" (Psalm 95:2).
"Give thanks to the LORD, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever" (1 Chronicles 16:34).
