"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. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789." - President George Washington

Today marks the four hundredth year that our people have celebrated Thanksgiving on this continent, thousands of miles from the world they knew in the great and primordial wilderness that once reigned from sea to sea. A celebration of harvest, of military triumph, and of survival against all odds is what we observe today.

As we stand here today, remind yourselves of the weight of tradition that rests around you. This holiday is a not a day to be commercialized, and handed over to the vagaries of detached ceremony. The First Thanksgiving was not hosted in air conditioning, but after a battle, by a hardy people whose lives were defined by struggle. Half of Plymouth's settlers had just died to the unforgiving winter which preluded the first Thanksgiving. Every man, woman, and child would have known someone who perished to disease, frost, and starvation. These are not comfortable deaths. This is an anguish we cannot imagine today, but it is their perserverance which made for themselves a home, and made for us a nation.

Just 53 Pilgrims composed the first feast that would define a tradition now four centuries old. We mark this day of thanks with the blessings of Prosperity. Foods born of our native continent to give us strength and remind us of our connections to this land. Turkey, corn, potatoes, commonplace to us and the world now, but unknown to our pre-Columbian ancestors, strange new delights that filled the plates of our frontier forebears. These few dozen, a handful of families, struck a chord of cultural resonance that would carry them into immortality. Let these great stories of survival and resilience bring your heart to glow with courage. Their story is now yours to uphold.