By TTA Blog
Many countries around the Globe celebrate Thanksgiving in their own way and timing. Our neighbors in Canada, for example, celebrate it in October. Here in the United States of America, we celebrate it each year on the third Thursday of November – primarily in recognition of the early story of the pilgrims.
There’s no telling what the Pilgrims were thinking when they first set off for the New World on their ship, the Mayflower. Perhaps in between hopes of religious freedom, they worried about the dangers that lay ahead. After all, in 1620, passage across the ocean was a treacherous business, even for the most hardened soul. If you weren’t attacked by pirates, or struck down by disease, you could be swept overboard in a storm; never to be seen again.
History tells us the Pilgrims dodged the pirates, but they weren’t so lucky when it came to disease and storms; one storm, in particular, nearly consigned them to a watery grave. Which is why, when they finally landed at Cape Cod (well north of their target), they were in a sorry state.
Weak, weary, and half-starved, they pilfered a stash of corn in the area and left a note for the local natives: an “IOU,” promising to repay them just as soon as they could.
One can imagine the Indians squinting at the handwritten note, just before attacking the English the next day!
Through it All They Kept Their Faith
Needless to say, the skirmish pushed the Pilgrims to sail up the coast until they eventually landed at Plymouth. But if they thought their troubles were over, they were sadly mistaken; for the winter proved as inhospitable as the Indians. With no time to build shelter, the Pilgrims slept aboard the Mayflower, and saw their numbers dwindle from cold and starvation. And yet, through it all, they kept their faith and trusted in God.
And in the spring, something of a miracle happened: two friendly Indians greeted them and brokered a peace treaty. Soon, the Wampanoag were teaching the Pilgrims how to fish, farm, and live off the land. And so it was that at harvest time in 1621, the surviving Pilgrims and their new Wampanoag friends celebrated the very First Thanksgiving.
A Time of Thanks and Reflection
If we use the story of the pilgrims along with the many other stories untold throughout the ages where groups of people struggled for various periods of time – and by divine relief were able to make it through – we would all Thank God for getting us through.
In that spirit, let us take a moment to be grateful for all that God has given us, and to wish all of our cherished customers, employees, family members, and friends a very Happy Thanksgiving.
~ Stanley Kowlessar
President & General Manager
