Recovering America’s First Thanksgivings: A Watchman News Special
Thanking YHWH for on-time ships arrival, deliverance from ravaging savages
Hi friends,
As we gather for Thanksgiving, I wanted to share something deeply meaningful that goes far beyond turkey, parades, and football. We just published a powerful historical feature on Watchman News about the real origins of Thanksgiving in early America—and why the holiday mattered so much to our forefathers.
Most people don’t realize that early Thanksgiving was not a secular harvest meal. It grew out of official Days of Fasting, Humiliation, and Thanksgiving called by colonial governments and carried out through public worship, prayer, and repentance. Thanksgiving began as a civic and spiritual act—an acknowledgment of God’s providence over a nation struggling to survive.
Even more surprising: the earliest documented annual Thanksgiving in America wasn’t in Massachusetts, but in Virginia, December 4, 1619:
“…ordaine that this day of our ships arrival, at the place assigned for plantacon, in the land of Virginia, shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God.”
These early Americans gave thanks not for abundance but for survival—deliverance from war, famine, disease, and the brink of extinction. Later, New England colonies would join in covenant to advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and the purity of the Gospel, reinforcing this national call to repentance and gratitude.
Over time, however, many of these local and state-led observances were centralized into one national holiday, often stripped of its original spiritual meaning. This article explores why recovering local, heartfelt thanksgiving may be more important now than ever.
👉 Read the full article here: https://watchman.news/
I hope it encourages you, strengthens your faith, and gives historical clarity to a day many have forgotten the meaning of. May this year’s Thanksgiving be more than a tradition—may it be a moment of renewal, gratitude, and unity.
Happy Thanksgiving, and may God bless you and your family richly.
With appreciation,
Rev Dr Stephen M. K. Brunswick
Editor | Watchman News