[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 66281-66282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26283]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 233 / Wednesday, December 4, 2019 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 66281]]

                Proclamation 9968 of November 27, 2019

                
Thanksgiving Day, 2019

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On Thanksgiving Day, we remember with reverence and 
                gratitude the bountiful blessings afforded to us by our 
                Creator, and we recommit to sharing in a spirit of 
                thanksgiving and generosity with our friends, 
                neighbors, and families.

                Nearly four centuries ago, determined individuals with 
                a hopeful vision of a more prosperous life and an 
                abundance of opportunities made a pilgrimage to a 
                distant land. These Pilgrims embarked on their journey 
                across the Atlantic at great personal risk, facing 
                unforeseen trials and tribulations, and unforetold 
                hardships during their passage. After their arrival in 
                the New World, a harsh and deadly winter took the lives 
                of nearly half their population. Those who survived 
                remained unwavering in their faith and foresight of a 
                future rich with liberty and freedom, enduring every 
                impediment as they established one of our Nation's 
                first settlements. Through God's divine providence, a 
                meaningful relationship was forged with the Wampanoag 
                Tribe, and through their unwavering resolve and 
                resilience, the Pilgrims enjoyed a bountiful harvest 
                the following year. The celebration of this harvest 
                lasted 3 days and saw Pilgrims and Wampanoag seated 
                together at the table of friendship and unity. That 
                first Thanksgiving provided an enduring symbol of 
                gratitude that is uniquely sewn into the fabric of our 
                American spirit.

                More than 150 years later, it was in this same spirit 
                of unity that President George Washington declared a 
                National Day of Thanksgiving following the 
                Revolutionary War and the ratification of our 
                Constitution. Less than a century later, that hard-won 
                unity came under duress as the United States was 
                engaged in a civil war that threatened the very 
                existence of our Republic. Following the Battle of 
                Gettysburg in 1863, in an effort to unite the country 
                and acknowledge ``the gracious gifts of the Most High 
                God,'' President Abraham Lincoln asked the American 
                people to come together and ``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.'' Today, this tradition continues with 
                millions of Americans gathering each year to give their 
                thanks for the same blessings of liberty for which so 
                many brave patriots have laid down their lives to 
                defend during the Revolutionary War and in the years 
                since.

                Since the first settlers to call our country home 
                landed on American shores, we have always been defined 
                by our resilience and propensity to show gratitude even 
                in the face of great adversity, always remembering the 
                blessings we have been given in spite of the hardships 
                we endure. This Thanksgiving, we pause and acknowledge 
                those who will have empty seats at their table. We ask 
                God to watch over our service members, especially those 
                whose selfless commitment to serving our country and 
                defending our sacred liberty has called them to duty 
                overseas during the holiday season. We also pray for 
                our law enforcement officials and first responders as 
                they carry out their duties to protect and serve our 
                communities. As a Nation, we owe a debt of gratitude to 
                both those who take an oath to safeguard us and

[[Page 66282]]

                our way of life as well as to their families, and we 
                salute them for their immeasurable sacrifices.

                As we gather today with those we hold dear, let us give 
                thanks to Almighty God for the many blessings we enjoy. 
                United together as one people, in gratitude for the 
                freedoms and prosperity that thrive across our land, we 
                acknowledge God as the source of all good gifts. We ask 
                Him for protection and wisdom and for opportunities 
                this Thanksgiving to share with others some measure of 
                what we have so providentially received.

                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 
                28, 2019, 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 
                twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand nineteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                fourth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2019-26283
Filed 12-3-19; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P