Each November in the United States on the fourth Thursday of the month, many observe Thanksgiving Day with family and friends gathered together to enjoy a delicious meal often followed by watching football or playing games. Amidst the feasting and fun, what is often forgotten is why Americans celebrate a day of national thanksgiving.
This seasonal tradition of giving thanks to God is attributed to a group of settlers known as the Pilgrims, who in 1620 settled in what became Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims had fled Europe to escape religious persecution. They were willing to brave a hazardous trip across the ocean to an unknown new land inhabited by small tribes of native peoples. Seeking religious freedom, the travel-worn and weary settlers arrived during the cold, bleak winter. There were no homes to welcome them and very little food was available. After a brutal winter spent on the Mayflower, the ship that had carried them, only half survived.
In the spring of 1621, as the Pilgrims were building shelters for themselves, they were unexpectedly welcomed by Squanto, of the Pawtuxet tribe, who greeted them in English. Many years earlier, Squanto had been kidnapped, taken to Europe, and sold into slavery. Eventually, he escaped to London where he learned to speak some English and later found an opportunity to return to his homeland, only to find that his tribe had perished from disease. Squanto kindly taught the settlers how to survive and instructed them on how to plant corn and fish. He was instrumental in negotiating a peace agreement with the Wampanoag tribe, an alliance that lasted over 50 years. With a successful harvest that fall, in November 1621, the Pilgrims organized a three day festival of thanksgiving to God and invited the local Wampanoag tribe to enjoy feasting and games with them. The Pilgrims recognized that God had graciously preserved them and, in gratitude and hope for the future, gave thanks to Him.
After the American Revolution, in 1789, President George Washington called for a national day of thanksgiving to God stating, “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
In the midst of the Civil War, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation entreating all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.” From then on, Thanksgiving Day was celebrated on the last Thursday in November until 1941 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the date to the fourth Thursday in Thanksgiving.
Today, Families often celebrate with a delicious Thanksgiving dinner which traditionally includes turkey or ham, green beans, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, bread, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie. With such a bounty of good food, symptoms of overindulgence are common.
Be prepared for the after effects of Thanksgiving dinner indulgence with these homeopathic remedies:
Nux vomica – for excessive eating of rich and spicy food that results in painful cramping and an uncomfortable and unsuccessful urge to pass stool. There is anger, irritability, sensitivity to noise and light, and a desire to be left alone.
Arsenicum album – for an upset stomach from food poisoning with cramping, anxious restlessness, and burning sensations. There may be a desire to sip on a warm beverage.
Carbo veg – for abdominal distension and gas with rancid burping and gas. There may be a feeling of not being able to get enough air.
Colocynthis – for stomach colic with cramping pains that are better for bending double and hard pressure. When symptoms occur after an argument, consider this remedy.
Lycopodium – for a sense of fullness after eating only a little followed by heartburn, burping, and noisy gas. Symptoms will be worse between 4 – 8 pm.
We have much for which to be thankful and should regularly acknowledge the daily provision that God graciously bestows to us. This Thanksgiving let us, like the Pilgrims and others before us, celebrate His goodness with thankful hearts for “In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” ~ Job 12:10