Proclamation - Thanksgiving Day 2005

Proclamation - Thanksgiving Day 2005

WHEREAS, a permanent English speaking settlement was established in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia as Captain John Smith led a group of settlers across the Atlantic on a voyage that would entail much adversity and hardship over the coming years as disease and starvation became commonplace throughout that historic post; and

WHEREAS, despite the enormous obstacles faced by the settlers, they found time to celebrate the first American Thanksgiving at Berkeley Plantation on December 4, 1619 in order to show their appreciation for the colony's successes and to acknowledge and give thanks for their own gifts and blessings; and

WHEREAS, while reflecting upon the actions taken by the colonists at the first Thanksgiving, we must also honor the Indian peoples, for without their presence the survival of the colonists would have been ever more difficult; and

WHEREAS, our first president, George Washington, proclaimed Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday in 1789; and

WHEREAS, Thanksgiving Day provides an opportunity for all Virginians and our nation to gather with family and friends in order to express thanks for our many blessings and to reaffirm our commitment to friendship and partriotism; and

WHEREAS, on Thanksgiving Day we join together with our families and communities to give thanks for the unique opportunities that our democratic government offers to us, including the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mark R. Warner, do hereby recognize November 24, 2005, as THANKSGIVING DAY in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.

http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Press_Policy/Proclamations/2005/thanksgiving.htm