LETTERS: REVISIONISTS WRONG; GOD IS TO BE THANKED

To the editor:

We trace our original Thanksgiving Day back to our early forefathers as they landed in the New World. A group of Puritans in England were called Separatists because they were not willing to support the Church of England.

In June 1620, the Puritans chartered two ships, the Speedwell and the Mayflower, to take them to the New World. Due to a number of complications with the Speedwell, it was abandoned, and its passengers crowded onto the Mayflower. Upon their arrival in Plymouth in November 1620, they offered a prayer of thanksgiving. That was the beginning of a prayerful attitude that saved their lives.

The first winter was bitterly cold and devastating to the Pilgrims. While life is not always fair, God is good. On March 16, 1621, a miracle took place when an Indian walked into the Plymouth settlement and spoke to the Pilgrims in fluent English. His name was Samoset, and he soon returned with another Indian named Squanto, who told them of his visits to England where he learned to speak English.

Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to tap maple trees and to plant, fertilize and cultivate corn. Without his help, it is doubtful they would have survived. The harvest in October was plentiful enough that they could put away a supply for the winter. In mid-October, Gov. William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. A large number of Indians were invited. The celebration lasted three days.

By the third year, the weather had made farming difficult. Crops were dying in the fields. Governor Bradford ordered a day of prayer and fasting. Soon the rains came. In order to celebrate, Nov. 29, 1623, was set aside as the first Thanksgiving Day to praise God for his mercy and providence.

But many school textbooks do not tell the same story. They revise history to say the first thanksgiving was not to thank God for deliverance, but actually was to thank the Indians for teaching them how to raise corn. It was truly the providence of God for which the Pilgrims were thankful. In this thanksgiving season, let's remember that every day is Thanksgiving Day.

GERALD W. BEAM

Dexter