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So much to be thankful for
The first national Thanksgiving Day was November 26, 1789 as proclaimed by President George Washington. Washington said Thanksgiving was "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 government for their safety and happiness. Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November 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." Thanksgiving celebrations were declared by President John Adams in 1798 and 1799. President Madison set apart a day for thanksgiving at the close of the War of 1812. Madison also declared the holiday twice in 1815; however neither of these were celebrated in autumn. By 1858, proclamations appointing a day of thanksgiving were issued by the governors of 25 states and two territories. In 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November. The last change to Thanksgiving was made by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He declared that Thanksgiving would be celebrated the next to last Thursday in November rather than the last. Our country was in the midst of The Great Depression and Roosevelt thought the change would give merchants more time to sell their goods before Christmas. At the time, it was considered inappropriate to advertise goods for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Not all states agreed with Roosevelt, and different states celebrated the holiday on either the next to last or last Thursday in November. The U.S. Congress split the difference in 1941 and established that Thanksgiving would occur on the fourth Thursday of November. Roosevelt signed the bill into law on November 26, 1941. I sincerely hope you and your family can be together for Thanksgiving and remember what you are thankful for. Here are a few things that I am thankful for every single day: I am thankful that my high school sweetheart agreed to marry me so many years ago. I am thankful that aforementioned sweetheart has chosen to keep me around and tolerates most of my bad habits. I am thankful to be blessed with a beautiful son. In his six years in this world, Nate has taught me more about living than I ever thought I would know. I am thankful to my Mom. If I do anything right in this world, all credit goes to her. I am thankful that I live in the United States and have the right to cast my vote and freely express my opinions. I am thankful for the outstanding employees of The Forest Blade. They are the ones that do all the work around here. They are the reason you, the readers, get all the local news each week. I am privileged to work with some of the finest people I have ever known. I am thankful that the members of our National Guard Unit are returning home. These men and women have served their county, their state, and their country honorably and we should all offer our thanks to each one of them. I am thankful that my path through life brought my family to Swainsboro. We have lived in every southern state but no place more welcoming than right here. Happy Thanksgiving.--Wally Gallian is publisher of The Forest-Blade and can be reached at wgallian@forest-blade.com
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