Through the ages, many peoples have observed feasts and offered prayers of thanksgiving for harvests. Although it had other historical connections, the Jewish Feast of Booths or Tabernacles was related to the autumn harvest. In medieval and early modern Europe, there were various local harvest festivals. In England and Germany, there were often harvest thanksgivings in local churches in early October. In the early history of America, European explorers and colonists of various nationalities gave thanks in many places and ways. In Virginia, there was a celebration of thanksgiving at Berkeley Hundred on December 4, 1619. Of course, the case in Massachusetts in 1621 was a dramatic case of survival, and it was propagated and publicized by New Englanders. At the time of Independence, this New England practice was promoted by the Continental Congress, and in 1789, the American Episcopal Book of Common Prayer included a Thanksgiving Day Office.
So despite popular legend, Thanksgiving or the Harvest Festival is not just for or about Puritan Pilgrims and Native Americans. The giving of thanks is a Scriptural theme found among many religious groups. It is a normal part of Christian worship to give God thanks for all things. It is also appropriate that we should pause in autumn to give special thanks for the products of the land which sustain and enrich life. Nun dunket alle Gott, "Now thank we all our God..."
