[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 48 (Monday, December 1, 2003)]
[Pages 1677-1678]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7738--Thanksgiving Day, 2003

November 21, 2003

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Each year on Thanksgiving, we gather with family and friends to 
thank God for the many blessings He has given us, and we ask God to 
continue to guide and watch over our country.
    Almost 400 years ago, after surviving their first winter at 
Plymouth, the Pilgrims celebrated a harvest feast to give thanks. George 
Washington proclaimed the first National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, 
and Abraham Lincoln revived the tradition during the Civil War. Since 
that time, our citizens have paused to express thanks for the bounty of 
blessings we enjoy and to spend time with family and friends. In want or 
in plenty, in times of challenge or times of calm, we always have 
reasons to be thankful.
    America is a land of abundance, prosperity, and hope. We must never 
take for granted the things that make our country great: a firm 
foundation of freedom, justice, and equality; a belief in democracy and 
the rule of law; and our fundamental rights to gather, speak, and 
worship freely.
    These liberties do not come without cost. Throughout history, many 
have sacrificed to preserve our freedoms and to defend peace around the 
world. Today, the brave men and women of our military continue this 
noble tradition. These heroes and their loved ones have the gratitude of 
our Nation.
    On this day, we also remember those less fortunate among us. They 
are our neighbors and our fellow citizens, and we are committed to 
reaching out to them and to all of those in need in our communities.
    This Thanksgiving, we again give thanks for all of our blessings and 
for the freedoms we enjoy every day. Our Founders thanked the Almighty 
and humbly sought His wisdom and blessing. May we always live by that 
same trust, and may God continue to watch over and bless the United 
States of America.
    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, 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 27, 
2003, as a National Day of

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Thanksgiving. I encourage Americans to gather in their homes, places of 
worship, and community centers to share the spirit of understanding and 
prayer and to reinforce ties of family and community.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first 
day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
eighth.
                                                George W. Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:46 a.m., November 24, 
2003]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
November 25. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language version of this proclamation. This item was not received in 
time for publication in the appropriate issue.