5 Ways Lincoln’s Proclamation Is Still Relevant Today

Hint: It’s about gratitude. The year was 1863, amid the bloodiest chapter in American history, when President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring the last Thursday of November a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise.” But Lincoln’s message, written by Secretary of State William H. Seward, did not come during a time peace or prosperity. It came during the bloodiest period in American history.

The Union and Confederacy were still fighting. Yet Lincoln asked Americans to pause and give thanks for “the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.” He also asked that we offer compassion to those suffering “in the lamentable civil strife.”

It’s powerful when you think about it: Lincoln didn’t institute Thanksgiving in a moment of peace and plenty. The Thanksgiving Proclamation was actually instituted during a moment of pain. He called upon a weary, divided nation to remember what remained good.

And that, perhaps, is the deepest meaning of Thanksgiving. We need to remember to give thanks not only when life is easy, but especially when it isn’t. And today, in these times of division, hardship, unrest, and uncertainty, it’s equally important to remember that there is still room for gratitude.

Gratitude as a Unifier

Lincoln’s proclamation became a ritual. Even as the Civil War raged on, Americans North and South sat down to tables, prayed for peace, and perhaps felt connected to something bigger than themselves.

After the war, the holiday continued, eventually becoming law in 1941, when Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill fixing Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November.

From there, Thanksgiving evolved: football games, parades, cranberry sauce in cans, and a mad dash of shopping on “Black Friday.” But beneath the bustle remains Lincoln’s quiet invitation: Stop, notice, give thanks, and heal.

Gratitude, in any era, is the great unifier. It humbles us, softens us, and makes room for connection. Especially when we may feel more divided as a nation than we have since the Civil War.

What Thanksgiving Can Teach Us Now

We hear about ‘gratitude’ everywhere now. We have “gratitude journals,” “gratitude challenges,” and inspirational memes. But we also have noise, distraction, and division unequalled in my lifetime.

So how do we celebrate Thanksgiving today in a way that honors its roots and restores its meaning?

1. Remember that gratitude isn’t dependent on perfection.
Lincoln called for gratitude during a war. You can, too, even if your family isn’t perfect, your table isn’t magazine-worthy, or your year has been heavy. Gratitude is not about glossing over hardship. It’s about noticing the small, shining pieces of good that still remain.

2. See gratitude as an action, not a mood.
To give thanks is to act. Write a note. Make a call. Deliver a meal. Invite someone who might otherwise be alone. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to make gratitude tangible.

3. Expand the table.
The first Thanksgiving, at its best telling, was about inclusion. People from different worlds sitting down together. Maybe this year, inclusion looks like inviting the neighbor who just lost her husband, or your son’s college friend who can’t get home, or even setting aside a moment at your table to name those who can’t be there.

4. Tell your stories.
Every family has its own “pilgrims and pioneers,” stories of courage, struggle, and triumph. Share them. Our ancestors’ resilience becomes our gratitude.

5. Slow down and savor.
Thanksgiving doesn’t need to be about overdoing everything from food, to décor, and expectations of a perfect feast and day. It can be about intention and presence. Notice the golden crust on the pie. The warmth of hands around a mug. The sound of laughter. Gratitude lives in the details.

A Deeper Kind of Thanks

As we grow older, Thanksgiving often changes. Maybe the table is smaller now. Maybe it’s fuller than ever. Maybe you’re the one hosting, or maybe you’ve passed the torch. Maybe this is the first Thanksgiving without someone you love. In any case, Thanksgiving isn’t just about abundance. It’s about perspective.

We understand, in ways we didn’t before, that gratitude and grief can coexist. And that the beauty of life can show up in imperfection.

Being thankful isn’t just something we say before a meal, but something we live, in the quiet moments afterward.

Reclaiming Thanksgiving From the Rush

Modern culture has a way of overshadowing Thanksgiving. Halloween decorations are barely packed away before Christmas lights twinkle in store windows. But slowing down long enough to truly give thanks is what sets this holiday apart.

Here’s how we can reclaim its meaning:

• Unplug. Try setting aside phones for an afternoon. No scrolling, no multitasking. Just be present.
• Cook together. Whether it’s stirring, chopping, or setting the table, the act of preparing food together builds community.
• Reflect aloud. Start a new tradition: before eating, invite everyone to share one thing they learned this year. It doesn’t have to be what they’re thankful for. Maybe it’s about what changed for them this year.
• Give forward. Deliver pies to a nursing home, contribute to a food bank, or send a donation in honor of someone you miss. Generosity magnifies gratitude.

Thanksgiving is about more than turkey. It’s about turning appreciation into awareness and action.

The Quiet Power of Gratitude

Gratitude doesn’t erase pain. It reframes it. When Lincoln asked a divided nation to give thanks, he wasn’t denying sorrow. He was reminding people that even amid grief, grace is possible.

That lesson holds today. Gratitude softens edges, bridges gaps, and restores hope. It makes us gentler, toward others and ourselves.

So this Thanksgiving, pause. Breathe. Notice the people at your table, the stories in the room, the lineage of love that brought you here. You are part of a history that began in hardship but has always pointed toward hope.

A Thanksgiving Reimagined

If the first Thanksgiving was about survival, and Lincoln’s Thanksgiving was about unity, perhaps ours can be about intentional gratitude. We can work to notice what sustains us in a fast, fractured world.

Maybe that looks like lighting a candle for peace, or calling a friend in need, or simply saying, “I see you” to the person across from you.

Gratitude, after all, is less about what’s on the table and more about who’s at it.

So this year, give thanks. Deeply, quietly, intentionally. Not because life is perfect, but because it’s precious.
Not because you have everything you want, but because of all you do have.

That’s the legacy of Thanksgiving. That’s the invitation of gratitude. And that’s what still binds us, year after year, meal after meal.

The Lifeticity Takeaway

Thanksgiving began as a humble harvest feast. It was reborn as a national act of hope. It continues today as a reminder to live with our eyes open to everything we are grateful for. In an age when it’s easy to be cynical or hurried, gratitude slows us down long enough to notice the beauty in the ordinary.

May this Thanksgiving, no matter how big or small, joyful or bittersweet, be your reminder that gratitude isn’t an event. It’s a way of life.