[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 22, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 55721-55722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25497]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 224 / Wednesday, November 22, 2017 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 55721]]


                Proclamation 9678 of November 17, 2017

                
Thanksgiving Day, 2017

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On Thanksgiving Day, as we have for nearly four 
                centuries, Americans give thanks to Almighty God for 
                our abundant blessings. We gather with the people we 
                love to show gratitude for our freedom, for our friends 
                and families, and for the prosperous Nation we call 
                home.

                In July 1620, more than 100 Pilgrims boarded the 
                Mayflower, fleeing religious persecution and seeking 
                freedom and opportunity in a new and unfamiliar place. 
                These dauntless souls arrived in Plymouth, 
                Massachusetts, in the freezing cold of December 1620. 
                They were greeted by sickness and severe weather, and 
                quickly lost 46 of their fellow travelers. Those who 
                endured the incredible hardship of their first year in 
                America, however, had many reasons for gratitude. They 
                had survived. They were free. And, with the help of the 
                Wampanoag tribe, and a bountiful harvest, they were 
                regaining their health and strength. In thanks to God 
                for these blessings, the new governor of the Plymouth 
                Colony, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of 
                thanksgiving and gathered with the Wampanoag tribe for 
                three days of celebration.

                For the next two centuries, many individual colonies 
                and states, primarily in the Northeast, carried on the 
                tradition of fall Thanksgiving festivities. But each 
                state celebrated it on a different day, and sometime on 
                an occasional basis. It was not until 1863 that the 
                holiday was celebrated on one day, nationwide. In the 
                aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, of one of the 
                bloodiest battles of our Nation's Civil War, President 
                Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that the country would set 
                aside one day to remember its many blessings. ``In the 
                midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and 
                severity,'' President Lincoln proclaimed, we recall the 
                ``bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are 
                prone to forget the source from which they come.'' As 
                President Lincoln recognized: ``No human counsel hath 
                devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great 
                things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High 
                God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, 
                hath nevertheless remembered mercy.''

                Today, we continue to celebrate Thanksgiving with a 
                grateful and charitable spirit. When we open our hearts 
                and extend our hands to those in need, we show humility 
                for the bountiful gifts we have received. In the 
                aftermath of a succession of tragedies that have 
                stunned and shocked our Nation--Hurricanes Harvey, 
                Irma, and Maria; the wildfires that ravaged the West; 
                and, the horrific acts of violence and terror in Las 
                Vegas, New York City, and Sutherland Springs--we have 
                witnessed the generous nature of the American people. 
                In the midst of heartache and turmoil, we are grateful 
                for the swift action of the first responders, law 
                enforcement personnel, military and medical 
                professionals, volunteers, and everyday heroes who 
                embodied our infinite capacity to extend compassion and 
                humanity to our fellow man. As we mourn these painful 
                events, we are ever confident that the perseverance and 
                optimism of the American people will prevail.

                We can see, in the courageous Pilgrims who stood on 
                Plymouth Rock in new land, the intrepidness that lies 
                at the core of our American spirit. Just as the 
                Pilgrims did, today Americans stand strong, willing to 
                fight

[[Page 55722]]

                for their families and their futures, to uphold our 
                values, and to confront any challenge.

                This Thanksgiving, in addition to rejoicing in precious 
                time spent with loved ones, let us find ways to serve 
                and encourage each other in both word and deed. We also 
                offer a special word of thanks for the brave men and 
                women of our Armed Forces, many of whom must celebrate 
                this holiday separated from the ones for whom they are 
                most thankful.

                As one people, we seek God's protection, guidance, and 
                wisdom, as we stand humbled by the abundance of our 
                great Nation and the blessings of freedom, family, and 
                faith.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 
                23, 2017, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I 
                encourage all Americans to gather, in homes and places 
                of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our 
                many blessings.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventeenth day of November, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                second.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2017-25497
Filed 11-21-17; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F8-P