[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 223 (Thursday, November 19, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 64407-64408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31211]



                Proclamation 7148 of November 17, 1998

                
Thanksgiving Day, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Thanksgiving Day is one of America's most beloved and 
                widely celebrated holidays. Whether descendants of the 
                original colonists or new citizens, Americans join with 
                family and friends to give thanks to a provident God 
                for the blessings of freedom, peace, and plenty.

                We are a Nation of people who have come from many 
                countries, cultures, and creeds. The colonial 
                Thanksgiving at Plymouth in 1621, when the Pilgrims of 
                the Old World mingled in fellowship and celebration 
                with the American Indians of the New World, 
                foreshadowed the challenge and opportunity that such 
                diversity has always offered us: to live together in 
                peace with respect and appreciation for our differences 
                and to draw on one another's strengths in the work of 
                building a great and unified Nation.

                And so at Thanksgiving we must also remember to be 
                thankful for the many contributions each generation of 
                Americans has made to preserve our blessings. We are 
                thankful for the brave patriots who have fought and 
                died to defend our freedom and uphold our belief in 
                human dignity. We are thankful for the men and women 
                who have worked this land throughout the decades, from 
                the stony farms of New England to the broad wheat 
                fields of the Great Plains to the fertile vineyards of 
                California, sharing our country's bounty with their 
                fellow Americans and people around the world. We are 
                thankful for the leaders and visionaries who have 
                challenged us through the years to fulfill America's 
                promise for all our people, to make real in our society 
                our fundamental ideals of freedom, equality, and 
                justice. We are thankful for the countless quiet heroes 
                and heroines who work hard each day, raise their 
                families with love and care, and still find time and 
                energy to make their communities better places in which 
                to live. Each of us has reason to be proud of our part 
                in building America, and each of us has reason to be 
                grateful to our fellow Americans for the success of 
                these efforts.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 26, 1998, 
                as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all the 
                people of the United States to assemble in their homes, 
                places of worship, or community centers to share the 
                spirit of goodwill and prayer; to express heartfelt 
                thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed 
                upon us; and to reach out in true gratitude and 
                friendship to our brothers and sisters across this land 
                who, together, comprise our great American family.

[[Page 64408]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventeenth day of November, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-third.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-31211
Filed 11-18-98; 11:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P