THE WHITE HOUSE -
Office of the Press Secretary -
For Immediate Release - November 25, 1998
THANKSGIVING
DAY, 1998 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Thanksgiving Day is one of America's most beloved and widely celebrated
holidays. Whether descendants of the original colonists or new citizens,
Americans join with family and friends to give thanks to a provident God
for the blessings of freedom, peace, and plenty.
We are a Nation of people
who have come from many countries, cultures, and creeds. The colonial
Thanksgiving at Plymouth in 1621, when the Pilgrims of the Old World mingled
in fellowship and celebration with the American Indians of the New World,
foreshadowed the challenge and opportunity that such diversity has always
offered us: to live together in peace with respect and appreciation for
our differences and to draw on one another's strengths in the work of building
a great and unified Nation.
And so at Thanksgiving we must also remember
to be thankful for the many contributions each generation of Americans
has made to preserve our blessings. We are thankful for the brave
patriots who have fought and died to defend our freedom and uphold our
belief in human dignity. We are thankful for the men and women who have
worked this land throughout the decades, from the stony farms of New England
to the broad wheat fields of the Great Plains to the fertile vineyards
of California, sharing our country's bounty with their fellow Americans
and people around the world. We are thankful for the leaders and visionaries
who have challenged us through the years to fulfill America's promise for
all our people, to make real in our society our fundamental ideals of freedom,
equality, and justice. We are thankful for the countless quiet heroes and
heroines who work hard each day, raise their families with love and care,
and still find time and energy to make their communities better places
in which to live. Each of us has reason to be proud of our part in building
America, and each of us has reason to be grateful to our fellow Americans
for the success of these efforts.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON,
President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby
proclaim Thursday, November 26, 1998, as a National Day of Thanksgiving.
I encourage all the people of the United States to assemble in their
homes, places of worship, or community centers to share the spirit of
goodwill and prayer; to express heartfelt thanks to God for the many
blessings He has bestowed upon us; and to reach out in true gratitude
and friendship to our brothers and sisters across this land who, together,
comprise our great American family.
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth
day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight,
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred
and twenty-third.