Next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, and people will observe it in various ways. Many will have a feast including family and friends; others will travel, perhaps having a short vacation while children are out of school. Some will watch the parades and football on television, and some will prepare for a day of shopping the next day which is commonly called “Black Friday.”

While Thanksgiving it historically a religious observance, it is now considered a secular holiday as well. The religious roots go back to the Old Testament when a time of thanksgiving was set aside at the conclusion of the harvest. It was thankfulness for surviving a brutal winter, for a bountiful harvest, and for the help of the Native Americans that the Pilgrims had what most of us call “The First Thanksgiving.”

While our modern celebration seems to be patterned at least somewhat from the Pilgrim’s observance, there were earlier thanksgivings. On Sept. 18, 1565, 600 Spanish settlers landed on the Florida coast and immediately held a Mass of Thanksgiving for their safety in arriving in the New World. A feast and a celebration followed. History records that another Mass of Thanksgiving was offered in April of 1598 by a Spanish expedition party. While neither was associated with harvest, they were still called “Thanksgivings.”

On Dec. 4, 1619, about 20 miles north of Jamestown, 38 settlers created a community and declared that the anniversary of their arrival would be observed yearly as a “day of thanksgiving.” In 1622, after an Indian massacre, the surviving colonists returned to Jamestown which was more secure. The colony was revived a few years later and continues to be the site of an annual Thanksgiving event.

The model for our modern Thanksgiving is the 1621 observance at Plymouth. They did not have pumpkin pie, because they did not have ovens, but they did have boiled pumpkin. Cranberries had not been introduced at this time, and “turkey” was a generic word for any type of fowl. They did not have flour for bread. They probably had duck, geese, venison, fish, lobster, clams, berries, dried fruit, pumpkin, squash and some vegetables.

Thanksgivings were held irregularly for the next century, but during the 18th century, it was a day of fasting, not feasting. Sometimes days were set aside in honor of a military victory or for an especially bountiful crop. In December of 1777 George Washington asked for a Thanksgiving day in celebration of the defeat of the British at Saratoga. As president he proclaimed the first National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789 and again in 1795. His successors did also, but not on a regular basis. Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving in 1863, establishing the modern holiday. However, it was 1941 when Congress made it a National Holiday.

When I was growing up, Thanksgiving Day was observed with all businesses closing for the day. It was a school holiday, and community churches would sometimes combine for a special service. Since people had the day off from work, it was a time to do some of the chores that had been pushed aside to await a more convenient time.

Today it is still a school holiday, but lots of businesses remain open. Churches services are usually the evening prior. Many restaurants have a special Thanksgiving spread that includes turkey and all the trimmings. And some consider it the last day to relax before the holiday rush begins.

So whether you feast, fast, travel, watch TV, or celebrate in some other way, take time to be thankful for the freedom that we have to be thankful.

John O. Hawkins is a native of Caldwell County who resides in Buffalo Cove.