By Sen. Marianne Moore

Thanksgiving has a rich cultural heritage in our history. With roots dating back to the very first settlers of our great nation, the notion that we take a day to step back, gather our families together and celebrate our blessings is just as important today as it ever was.

Hello, this is Senator Marianne Moore serving Washington and Hancock counties. I thank you for joining me for this week’s Republican Radio Address.

Unless you’ve recently arrived in our country, you’ve likely grown up with the Thanksgiving tradition of gathering for a feast of native food with distant relatives. The way it’s celebrated today is modeled after a harvest celebration in 1621 between the Pilgrims in Plymouth and the Wampanoag people. That early celebration led to over half a century of peaceful coexistence between Plymouth Colony and the Native American people.

Thanksgiving took on a much different meaning after the Continental Congress proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving when the U.S. Constitution was finally enacted in 1798. Still, the newly minted government structure led Congress to leave states to declare their own holidays afterward in a nod to federalism.

It wasn’t until Abraham Lincoln declared it an official holiday in 1863 that the Thanksgiving day we know of today began to take hold. He thought the adoption of a day of unity was needed amid the Civil War ravaging the nation. In October of that year, he established Thursday, Nov. 26 as the official holiday.

For scores of years afterward, U.S. presidents intermittently recognized the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. That changed in 1942 when Franklin D. Roosevelt – in response to a Joint Resolution passed by Congress a year earlier – declared the fourth Thursday of each month as Thanksgiving Day.

While some today consider the annual holiday as simply a day off or springboard into the Christmas shopping season, others revel in its daylong abundance of food, football games, Thanksgiving Day parades or even time in a deer stand. However, I believe the day’s true meaning is still rooted in its origins of community and unity.

But before I get to what Thanksgiving means to me, I took the opportunity to ask several of my Republican colleagues that very same question. I wanted to hear their perspectives of whether Thanksgiving held the same importance.

For my colleague from Androscoggin County, Senator Eric Brakey, he said Thanksgiving is the time when we “take stock in what we should be grateful for and focus on what we’ve been blessed with.”

Sen. Jim Libby of Cumberland County said Thanksgiving means family, food and fun. For him, it’s a time when you can see “the extended family you may only see once or twice a year.”

In nearby Penobscot County, my good friend Sen. Stacey Guerin said the day gives her thanks for her faith and relationship with God, and “the many blessings of family and freedom.”

Across the state in Oxford County, my colleague Sen. Rick Bennett said Thanksgiving means taking time “to reflect on the all of God’s blessings, those we love, the life and liberty we have as a free people and the communities of support we share.”

And for our Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart up in Aroostook County, that wonderful part of Maine where much of the potatoes we’re all about to eat come from, he was a bit more practical and said it is one day “less than a year before the next election.” Well, can’t argue there.

For me, though, the joy of Thanksgiving is about the call for remembrance and celebration. It is a day to reflect on all the blessings I have been fortunate to have in my life, to enjoy every precious moment with my family.

I think we can all agree Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate and acknowledge all that is good in our lives, and the kindness and peace it represents. No matter where you are in Maine, take a pause on Thursday to celebrate the day with friends and loved ones. If you’re fortunate enough, maybe consider buying a turkey or donating a meal for those families who aren’t.

Again, I am Senator Marianne Moore of Washington County. Thank you for listening; and I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Senator Marianne Moore represents District 6, which includes communities in Washington and Hancock counties. She is the Senate Republican Lead for the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.