Thanksgiving Proclamation 2010

NH Mayflower Deputy Governor, John Payzant, NH Governor John Lynch
and NH Mayflower Captain Heather Rojo at the Statehouse

At the Statehouse, Concord, New Hampshire on 17 November 2010, Governor John Lynch of New Hampshire signed the official Thanksgiving Proclamation presented by members of the New Hampshire Society of Mayflower Descendants. The Mayflower Society’s role is to honor the memory of our Plymouth ancestors and to fulfill this mission through genealogical research and promoting our colonial history. All this so New Hampshire residents can now officially enjoy their turkey dinner!
Since I didn't keep the copy of this year's proclamation, I'll post the wording for the 2009 Proclamation (very similar to this year's):

WHEREAS, In the autumn of 1621, the Pilgrims held a three-day feast to celebrate the plentiful harvest they reaped following their first winter in North America, and


WHEREAS, the first national Thanksgiving Day, proclaimed by President George Washington, was November, 26, 1789, and President Abraham Lincoln, proclaimed the first annual national holiday in 1863, establishing as the date the last Thursday of November at the behest of nationally celebrated editor and author, and daughter of New Hampshire, Sarah Josepha Hale; and

WHEREAS, on Thanksgiving Day, New Hampshire citizens and all Americans come together to enjoy the fellowship of family and friends with a feast that symbolizes the many blessings in our lives; and

WHEREAS, while Thanksgiving is a time to gather in a spirit of gratitude with family, friends, and neighbors, it is also an opportunity to serve others and to share our blessings with those in need; and

WHEREAS, as citizens we pause to consider our good fortune as residents of this Great State, we are especially mindful of the heroic men and women serving in our Armed Forces, especially those serving abroad;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, John Lynch, Governor of the State of New Hampshire, do recognize and celebrate November 26, 2009 as
THANKSGIVING DAY
and encourage the people of New Hampshire to pray or reflect on their own and give thanks for the rich blessings of our State and our Nation.

In WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of New Hampshire

John Lynch

G O V E R NO R

DONE at the Capitol in Concord in the Executive Chambers on this Eighteenth day of November in the year Two Thousand and Nine.

Photograph courtesy of Carolyn Payzant
A post about the Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1782 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-proclamation-1782.html

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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo