2020 marks the 400th year since the first Puritans arrived on the American continent aboard the Mayflower. President Donald Trump issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation Thursday (Nov. 26) calling on Americans to pray to God for the gifts they have received at home or in places of worship.
He said that Thanksgiving is a constant reminder of the power of faith, love, perseverance, prayer and friendship, and that the prayers of the people in the midst of a viral pandemic are inspiring healing and recovery in the United States.
The following is a translation of the proclamation.
On Thanksgiving Day, we give thanks for the generous blessings God has given us. As we gather with family and friends to celebrate this holiday of generosity, hope, and thanksgiving, we remember America’s founding traditions of faith, family, and love, and we give thanks for the founding principles of freedom and democracy that have made our country so successful in the world. A unique place in world history.
This November marks 400 years since the Mayflower and its passengers arrived in the New World, when they embarked on their transatlantic journey in the face of unpredictable trials.
These brave men and women endured two months of hardship and starvation at sea, with the hope of a better future, to arrive in this new world of potential. The harsh winter that greeted them took the lives of nearly half of the people who suffered from cold, disease, and hunger. After unimaginable hardships, the first Americans remained steadfast in their faith and unwavering in their dreams.
They established friendly relations with the Wampanoag Tribe, with a common spirit and a belief that God would bless them. The following year the Puritans celebrated the harvest with their Native American neighbors, the first Thanksgiving. As this seminal event in our nation’s history, Thanksgiving serves as a constant reminder of the power of faith, love, perseverance, prayer, and friendship.
The Mayflower’s arrival in the New World in 1620 also marked the arrival of the first seeds of democracy in our land. These early settlers, living in the wilderness without a monarchy, were determined to establish their own government through the Mayflower Compact. Based on the principle of majority rule, with elected leaders accountable to articulate “the laws of justice and equality,” the Mayflower Compact represents the first chapter of a long American tradition of self-determination and the rule of law. After 156 years, our Founding Fathers resolved to secede from England and establish a perpetual government based on the Mayflower Compact, deriving its authority solely from the “consent of the governed.
As our nation continues to battle a coronavirus (Chinese Communist virus) pandemic today, we are once again working together to overcome the new challenges we face. In the midst of suffering and loss, we have witnessed the extraordinary courage and selflessness of the American people in helping those in desperate need, carrying on the spirit of the first Puritans and contributing to their communities. First responders, paramedics, frontline workers, neighbors, and countless other patriots served and sacrificed for their fellow citizens, and the prayers of the people rekindled the strength our nation needs to heal and recover in troubled times. In spite of unprecedented challenges, we have not been hobbled by adversity. Instead, we seized the strength to make a major breakthrough to end the crisis by rebuilding medical stockpiles, improving production capacity, and developing breakthrough therapies and life-saving vaccines in record time.
On this day of thanksgiving, we are also thankful for those who are unable to be with their families at this time. Among them are the brave patriots of our military who selflessly defend our sacred freedoms at home and abroad. Let us pause for a moment to remember the contributions of law enforcement and emergency personnel. We are deeply grateful for all those who remain on duty during the holiday season, keeping us safe as we celebrate and give thanks for the gifts in our lives.
On this Thanksgiving Day, let us once again express our sincere gratitude for all that we enjoy and honor the generous and selfless legacy of our ancestors. While challenges remain, we will never give in, and we must live up to our traditions. As we gather with our loved ones, we will celebrate freedom with conviction and patriotic fervor, and cherish a better vision of hope and peace for the future.
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 26, 2020, as National Thanksgiving Day. I encourage all Americans to gather in homes and places of worship to pray to God for the many gifts we have been given.
I have signed this proclamation this twenty-second day of November, two thousand and twenty-five, two hundred and forty-fifth year of the independence of the United States of America.
Donald Trump
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