November 22, 2004
THANKSGIVING DAY 2004
By His Excellency GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY
The prosperity and freedoms that have been handed down to the citizens of the Commonwealth are cause for great celebration. As the beneficiaries of such a fine legacy, it is fitting for all of us to show our heartfelt gratitude.
The traditions of Thanksgiving Day in America began here in Massachusetts with the Pilgrims. Believing that they were guided and protected by divine providence, they gave thanks to God for having sustained them through a treacherous Atlantic crossing and for granting them a crop from seeds sown in the Plymouth wilderness they now called home.
On that day in 1621, as the Pilgrims broke bread with their Native American neighbors, they began a custom for the ages. Our nation today is vastly different from the desolation experienced by these early pioneers. Three hundred and eighty-three years later, the ideals sought by the Pilgrims are firmly ensconced in the American way of life. We live in a land of personal freedoms and tolerance, a land with vast natural resources, a land basking in the sunshine of democracy. It is by the courage and diligence of our forebears that such is so. Despite the march of time and progress, the worthy rituals of Thanksgiving continue. Each year, on the fourth Thursday in November, we Americans gather to give thanks for the good fortune that has been bestowed upon us.
In these times when so many still face hardship, it does us well to reflect on the struggles of those who paved the way for America to embark upon her destiny. We should be mindful that though their plight was often desperate, a strong faith, belief in themselves, and a penchant for hard work ensured their survival and well-being.
As we join family, friends and loved ones to celebrate this day by giving thanks for the abundant blessings we enjoy, we think also of those at home and abroad who are less fortunate, as well as those who struggle and sacrifice to preserve the freedoms we cherish deeply.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mitt Romney, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, do hereby call upon the citizens of Massachusetts to observe Thursday, November 25th, 2004, as a day of Thanksgiving.
Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston, this twenty-fifth day of November in the year of our Lord two thousand and four, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the two hundred and twenty-eighth
By His Excellency the Governor MITT ROMNEY
WILLIAM F. GALVIN
Secretary of the Commonwealth
GOD SAVE THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
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