Commentary: Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln art work The human tradition of thanksgiving runs back to ancient times as a celebration of bountiful harvests and the need to be respectful to whatever gods or supernatural forces were thought to have made them possible. It is a tradition that took special root in a religious and fruitful America from the earliest days of European settlement.

The establishment of Thanksgiving as a permanent national holiday, set for late November, is credited to President Abraham Lincoln. It was a time of war, with some people celebrating the safe return of loved ones and others suffering from separation or mourning permanent loss. Everyone from the president on down was in need of a…