Though it was not called Thanksgiving Day at the time, what we recognize as the first Thanksgiving feast was celebrated in 1621 by the pilgrims of the Plymouth colony along with about 90 Wampanoag Indians. The Pilgrims had suffered through a devastating winter in which nearly half their number died. Without the help of the Indians, all would have perished.

After the first good harvest, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and prayer to God. The food, which was eaten outdoors, included corn, geese, turkeys, ducks, eel, clams, leeks, plums, cod, bass, barley, venison and corn bread. The feast lasted 3 days. Though the exact date is unknown, the feast clearly took place in late autumn.

At the close of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln wrote: It has seemed to me fit and proper that they (the gracious gifts of the Most High God) should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to 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."

From the above, the origins and meanings of Thanksgiving Day are crystal clear. Yet, the secular world is trying hard to make Thanksgiving a purely generic holiday with no mention of God. In Maryland public schools students are now being taught about a secular Thanksgiving which counters the holiday's original premise as stated by President George Washington in his Thanksgiving Day proclamation: "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." Deliberate omissions of fact deny the meaning and purpose of Thanksgiving.

The re-writing of history by governments and through public schools has historically been the hallmark of totalitarian regimes. Such re-writing for a God-less American history cannot be allowed, or we would be dishonoring our pilgrim ancestors, President Washington, President Lincoln and many others in our nations history, as well as ourselves.

By law government cannot establish a religion. Therefore, it legally follows that government cannot deliberately de-establish a religion either. If you make the CHRIST Program part of your faith walk, make sure your political representatives, school boards, and local media know that thanking God is an integral part of Thanksgiving and our American heritage, and is also important to you.