The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
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.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to 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. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.
Also, this Proclamation issued by Governor Wilbur Cross on Nov. 12, 1936
"Time out of mind at this turn of the seasons when the hardy oak leaves rustle in the wind and the frost gives a tang to the air and the dusk falls early and the friendly evenings lengthen under the heel of Orion, it has seemed good to our people to join together in praising the Creator and Preserver, who has brought us by a way that we did not know to the end of another year. In observance of this custom, I appoint Thursday, the twenty-sixth of November, as a day of Public Thanksgiving for the blessings that have been our common lot and have placed our beloved State with the favored regions of earth -- for all the creature comforts: the yield of the soil that has fed us and the richer yield from labor of every kind that has sustained our lives -- and for all those things, as dear as breath to the body, that quicken man's faith in his manhood, that nourish and strengthen his spirit to do the great work still before him: for the brotherly word and act; for honor held above price; for steadfast courage and zeal in the long, long search after truth; for liberty and for justice freely granted by each to his fellow and so as freely enjoyed; and for the crowning glory and mercy of peace upon our land; -- that we may humbly take heart of these blessings as we gather once again with solemn and festive rites to keep our Harvest Home.
Just finished rewatching Ken Burns' Civil War for probably the tenth time. It's a holiday tradition for me. To anyone unfamiliar, it will completely transform your understanding of American history, and Lincoln as a man.
Can't recommend it enough, and it's on PBS digital through Prime Video now.
Today's a real shit day for me, not because of the holiday but because of the events in my life leading up to today, but I just wanted to pop in and tell HN Happy Thanksgiving because this community is wonderful even with its flaws. Thanks for everything over the years and many to come.
Thank you very much, dang, for working tirelessly to moderate and maintain an amazing community. I know nothing's perfect, but this community keeps me coming back (for better or for worse) because of the quality discussion. Moderation is at least half of that.
Thanks to everyone here for kipping some sanity and wisdom in the wilderness of the Internet, thanks to dang for making it possible and thanks to the person that more than a decade ago recommended me to visit at least once per day the front page of HN. The latter definitely changed my professional career.
I’m thankful for the privilege of living in the current time and being free and able to (hopefully) make it a better place. I’m thankful to live in a place where I can just be how I am without having to worry that it will get me killed, or even hassled.
It's an understatement to call HN a daily read for me. Does anyone else check the comments before following the link? The perspectives shared here are a valuable part of my information diet. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
+1 and I’m greatful for dang and the moderation team for making it a great community to discuss and share ideas and opinions that I would never would have come across otherwise. Thank you.
I frequently don't follow the link unless the comments make me intrigued enough to do so. Partly because of the typically high signal/noise ratio for top comments here, and partly because of the ubiquity of paywalls, popups, horrible design and other JavaScript-heavy forms of user-hostility (or at least non-friendly or misguided) one finds in the average website.
The simplicity of presentation on Hacker News is one of its defining virtues.
I go through the front page and right click open new tab the link to the comments section for all the stories that seem interesting. Then I go through each tab, see if the comments are interesting, and only then do I click on the article.
I find the comments and discussion often provide far more value compared to the actual articles. Especially when it comes to links about health. Lots of pseudoscience out there and very grateful for the knowledgeable community to shed light on it when it shows up.
HN has really impressed upon me the value of site loading speed - one big reason I often check the comments first is that _they're there instantly_, whereas clicking on the actual link is a bit of a crapshoot! It's surprising how influential that difference is.
When I had children, a family of my own, I came to find Thanksgiving my favorite holiday. Seemingly immune to the commercialization (I'm going to disassociate Black Friday with Thanksgiving), it became for me a day to relax, hang out with the family and ... be thankful.
How pure and unencumbered is that?
Best thing the U.S. has come up with. (Landing on the Moon was cool too though.)
127 comments
[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 186 ms ] threadThe year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
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.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to 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. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.
"Time out of mind at this turn of the seasons when the hardy oak leaves rustle in the wind and the frost gives a tang to the air and the dusk falls early and the friendly evenings lengthen under the heel of Orion, it has seemed good to our people to join together in praising the Creator and Preserver, who has brought us by a way that we did not know to the end of another year. In observance of this custom, I appoint Thursday, the twenty-sixth of November, as a day of Public Thanksgiving for the blessings that have been our common lot and have placed our beloved State with the favored regions of earth -- for all the creature comforts: the yield of the soil that has fed us and the richer yield from labor of every kind that has sustained our lives -- and for all those things, as dear as breath to the body, that quicken man's faith in his manhood, that nourish and strengthen his spirit to do the great work still before him: for the brotherly word and act; for honor held above price; for steadfast courage and zeal in the long, long search after truth; for liberty and for justice freely granted by each to his fellow and so as freely enjoyed; and for the crowning glory and mercy of peace upon our land; -- that we may humbly take heart of these blessings as we gather once again with solemn and festive rites to keep our Harvest Home.
Can't recommend it enough, and it's on PBS digital through Prime Video now.
If anything fails, remember, I wish you a truly happy thanksgiving, and I hope you can finish this day better than you start it.
Walk right in it's around the back, just a half a mile from the railroad track…
This year my boys and I are traveling out of state to a waterpark just to try something different.
The opportunities that this industry has provided me.
I’m grateful for my wife.
I’m grateful for my health.
Thanks to everyone here for kipping some sanity and wisdom in the wilderness of the Internet, thanks to dang for making it possible and thanks to the person that more than a decade ago recommended me to visit at least once per day the front page of HN. The latter definitely changed my professional career.
I enjoy reading these annual appreciation notes.
Any recipes to share?
Almost always. A quick scan often tells me whether the article is worth reading or not: topic and quality.
I hold off on responding to anything until I have read the article, though.
The simplicity of presentation on Hacker News is one of its defining virtues.
view-source:https://news.ycombinator.com/hn.js
That way, the root page is the main page, the comments are children and the link and other links from the comments are children of it's comments page
How pure and unencumbered is that?
Best thing the U.S. has come up with. (Landing on the Moon was cool too though.)
Taking a day to just be around family and feel grateful for what you have, is worth doing.