[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 184 (Friday, December 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2167-E2168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE EMPTY CHAIR

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, December 2, 2011

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on Thanksgiving, millions of Americans 
will sit down to a decorated table filled with turkey and all the

[[Page E2168]]

trimmings such as mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie to celebrate the 
Thanksgiving holiday. They will tell stories, laugh and enjoy 
conversation with their loved ones. But there are other homes around 
the nation where the dining room table will be accompanied by an empty 
chair. In that chair once sat a husband, father, brother, sister, son 
or daughter. It sat a graduate, a friend and a United States warrior. 
It is now an empty reminder of a courageous American hero who gave his 
or her life for this country. Today we say a prayer for those families 
with the empty seat at the table, and we thank them for their sacrifice 
to this country. At Thanksgiving, Americans must be thankful for the 
heroes--and the families that they leave behind--that volunteer to 
fight 365 days of the year all across the world so that the rest of us 
can be free.
  Thanksgiving is about more than a turkey and sitting around a dinner 
table. It is about giving thanks to God for all of the blessings we 
enjoy, including our troops and our freedom.
  Where did Thanksgiving come from? In 1620, the Pilgrims landed at 
Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Fleeing religious 
persecution, they vowed to make a better life for all in North America. 
The Pilgrims, unaccustomed to the Massachusetts winter, would not have 
survived their first winter without the help of the Indians, who 
brought them food, saving them from starvation. During the following 
year, the Pilgrims' conditions improved in Massachusetts, leading to a 
productive harvest season. To celebrate and give thanks to God for the 
harvest, the Pilgrims invited the Indians who had helped them the 
previous winter, and held a three-day feast. This feast was the birth 
of what is today known as Thanksgiving.
  A common misconception about Thanksgiving is that it was annually 
celebrated following 1621. Actually, for the next 150 years, the 
American colonists would only celebrate Thanksgiving when there was 
cause to do so. In 1789, President George Washington declared a 
National Day of Thanksgiving for the American colonists. In his 
Presidential Proclamation, Washington stated: ``It is the duty of all 
nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God . . . to be 
grateful for His benefits, and to (request) his protection and favor. 
I, President Washington, recommend to the people of the United States, 
a day of public thanksgiving and prayer . . . to show the many favors 
of the Almighty and especially the opportunity for this form of 
government.''
  President Washington's belief in a National Day of Thanksgiving was 
not widely agreed upon or accepted throughout the colonies. For the 
next 70 years, a day of Thanksgiving was not routinely held. During the 
early 1800s, however, a female magazine editor named Sarah Josepha Hale 
began a 40-year campaign to institute a National Day of Thanksgiving. 
In November 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, agreeing with Sarah Hale, 
proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving for the last Thursday in 
November. Thus began the tradition of Thanksgiving Day. But, it was not 
until 1941, under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, that 
Thanksgiving was declared an official national holiday by Congress.
  No matter what Thanksgiving traditions have been enacted since 
Thanksgiving Day was first declared in 1863, and officially recognized 
a national holiday in 1941, Thanksgiving has always been about giving 
thanks to God for what we have and thinking of others who may not have 
what we do. This Thanksgiving Day, I invite this great nation to not 
lose sight of the true meaning of Thanksgiving and to do as the 
Pilgrims did before us: Offer a prayer of thanks to God for all of the 
gifts that he has bestowed.
  And that's just the way it is.

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