Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers!!!
As we gather with family and friends this year, let's be sure to remember why we celebrate Thanksgiving. It is not for all the fabulous food, the football, the time off work, or Black Friday deals, but rather a time to think about all of God's blessings to us, especially His provision, and the love of family and friends. It is a time to thank Him!
This year I have heard and read a lot about how the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving was inspired by the feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles or Booths), so I explored this in a little more depth. While some researchers claimed a substantial relationship between the two holidays, others seemed to dismiss the idea. What is the truth?
First of all, Thanksgiving, as a national holiday, was instituted with President Lincoln's declaration in 1863. It wasn't until 1941 that Congress established that Thanksgiving was to be held every year on the fourth Thursday of November. So, the Thanksgiving that the Pilgrims celebrated was not meant to be the precursor of an annual holiday, although, the inspiration for the national holiday was indeed the Pilgrim's celebration. Likely, the Pilgrims did not celebrate on a yearly basis since they rejected the Catholic idea of fixed holidays throughout the year. Celebration stemmed from events that warranted special treatment.
Yet, there is some correlation between the Pilgrims' perspectives of themselves and the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. When the Pilgrims left Holland, they left because of the liberal influence that Holland had on the congregation, especially the young. They wanted to flee from these influences and felt that starting off in a new land would be the ideal way to create a kind of "new world." They were going on an Exodus, heading for the Promised Land.
This view that the Pilgrims had of themselves did not mean that they followed the whole Torah. They observed the "moral" law but felt that the "ceremonial" laws were no longer applicable. Consequently, they did not observe any of the feasts of the Lord, like Sukkot. However, their view did lend itself to understanding that the Jewish observance of Sukkot was an expression of thanksgiving.
Leviticus 23:39-43 (KJV)
39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
The Pilgrims realized that the Israelites living in booths for seven days was a reminder of the hardships of the Exodus, but the accompanying joy of the feast represented the hope of the Promised Land.
Was the original Pilgrim Thanksgiving inspired by Sukkot? Although we may not have a definitive answer, there does appear to be enough evidence to think it a possibility.
Please see: toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/sukkot-the-harvest-holiday/
www.jns.org/latest-articles/2013/8/19/did-sukkot-help-shape-thanksgiving
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