Thanksgiving Day, 2019
| Citation | 84 FR 66281 |
| Published date | 04 December 2019 |
| Record Number | 2019-26283 |
| Section | Presidential Documents |
| Court | Executive Office Of The President |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 66281-66282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26283] Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 233 / Wednesday, December 4, 2019 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 66281]]
Proclamation 9968 of November 27, 2019
Thanksgiving Day, 2019
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On Thanksgiving Day, we remember with reverence and
gratitude the bountiful blessings afforded to us by our
Creator, and we recommit to sharing in a spirit of
thanksgiving and generosity with our friends,
neighbors, and families.
Nearly four centuries ago, determined individuals with
a hopeful vision of a more prosperous life and an
abundance of opportunities made a pilgrimage to a
distant land. These Pilgrims embarked on their journey
across the Atlantic at great personal risk, facing
unforeseen trials and tribulations, and unforetold
hardships during their passage. After their arrival in
the New World, a harsh and deadly winter took the lives
of nearly half their population. Those who survived
remained unwavering in their faith and foresight of a
future rich with liberty and freedom, enduring every
impediment as they established one of our Nation's
first settlements. Through God's divine providence, a
meaningful relationship was forged with the Wampanoag
Tribe, and through their unwavering resolve and
resilience, the Pilgrims enjoyed a bountiful harvest
the following year. The celebration of this harvest
lasted 3 days and saw Pilgrims and Wampanoag seated
together at the table of friendship and unity. That
first Thanksgiving provided an enduring symbol of
gratitude that is uniquely sewn into the fabric of our
American spirit.
More than 150 years later, it was in this same spirit
of unity that President George Washington declared a
National Day of Thanksgiving following the
Revolutionary War and the ratification of our
Constitution. Less than a century later, that hard-won
unity came under duress as the United States was
engaged in a civil war that threatened the very
existence of our Republic. Following the Battle of
Gettysburg in 1863, in an effort to unite the country
and acknowledge ``the gracious gifts of the Most High
God,'' President Abraham Lincoln asked the American
people to come together and ``set apart and observe the
last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving
and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the
heavens.'' Today, this tradition continues with
millions of Americans gathering each year to give their
thanks for the same blessings of liberty for which so
many brave patriots have laid down their lives to
defend during the Revolutionary War and in the years
since.
Since the first settlers to call our country home
landed on American shores, we have always been defined
by our resilience and propensity to show gratitude even
in the face of great adversity, always remembering the
blessings we have been given in spite of the hardships
we endure. This Thanksgiving, we pause and acknowledge
those who will have empty seats at their table. We ask
God to watch over our service members, especially those
whose selfless commitment to serving our country and
defending our sacred liberty has called them to duty
overseas during the holiday season. We also pray for
our law enforcement officials and first responders as
they carry out their duties to protect and serve our
communities. As a Nation, we owe a debt of gratitude to
both those who take an oath to safeguard us and
[[Page 66282]]
our way of life as well as to their families, and we
salute them for their immeasurable sacrifices.
As we gather today with those we hold dear, let us give
thanks to Almighty God for the many blessings we enjoy.
United together as one people, in gratitude for the
freedoms and prosperity that thrive across our land, we
acknowledge God as the source of all good gifts. We ask
Him for protection and wisdom and for opportunities
this Thanksgiving to share with others some measure of
what we have so providentially received.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November
28, 2019, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I
encourage all Americans to gather, in homes and places
of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our
many blessings.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord
two thousand nineteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
fourth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2019-26283
Filed 12-3-19; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P
