Throwback Thursday: Looking Forward to Thanksgiving by: Brett Briggeman

As November gets started, many of us are already looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving break, a much needed rest before the beginning of finals week.

However, there is always the temptation to forget why Thanksgiving exists in the first place. And no, it does not have anything to do with Pilgrims and Native Americans as we might like to think. 

On Nov. 22, 1957, The Hardin-Simmons University (HSU) Brand published Moses Originated Thanksgiving With Feast of Tabernacles, written by Nancy Scott. 

“Moses gave directions for the first real Thanksgiving; only he called it the Feast of Tabernacles, and it lasted for seven days coming right after their harvest,” Scott writes. “The Greeks celebrated a Feast of Demeter, who was the goddess of the soil and of harvest and the Romans had the festival called Cerelia in the honor of Ceres, goddess of the harvest. In early England they celebrated Harvest Home.”

It is imperative to understand the importance of these festivals because they point to the true meaning of why we celebrate Thanksgiving in the first place. These festivals point to thankfulness for a good harvest and  having food for the next season. But what about celebrating when things seem bleak? That is where the pilgrims come into the story. 

“The first Thanksgiving our forefathers had was after a year that you and I would believe left a lot to be thankful for,” Scott writes. “Nearly half of this little company of pilgrims had perished in the winter. I’m not getting dramatic with you either. If you want the straight facts, these fearless people had faced a bleak coast, built flimsy shelters and stuck it out right there on the edge of the ocean, backed by a wilderness full of red men and wild beasts. [You might be thinking,] Wow! They didn’t have much to be grateful for. [But] They didn’t feel that way. The Indians had taught them how to grow corn, and they had brought in a pretty good harvest. They decided that the best way to celebrate this good harvest was with a feast and the giving of thanks to God for His mercy and His keeping.”

Scott closes the article by reminiscing of some of her favorite moments from this time of year, with putting the focus back on God. 

“A crisp wind nuzzles all over me like a horse looking for sugar and from the ‘Forty Acres’ I can see the mist rising in the distance,” Scott writes. “That’s when I know that this is God’s world and I am His. You see, Thanksgiving does come more than once a year. It springs up in our hearts every time we acknowledge God’s goodness and love.” 

This Fall season, remember the love that God has for you and take some time to be thankful for the little things in life.