Thanksgiving Day, 2014

Proclamation 9214 of November 26, 2014

Thanksgiving Day, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Thanksgiving Day invites us to reflect on the blessings
we enjoy and the freedoms we cherish. As we gather with
family and friends to take part in this uniquely
American celebration, we give thanks for the
extraordinary opportunities we have in a Nation of
limitless possibilities, and we pay tribute to all
those who defend our Union as members of our Armed
Forces. This holiday reminds us to show compassion and
concern for people we have never met and deep gratitude
toward those who have sacrificed to help build the most
prosperous Nation on earth. These traditions honor the
rich history of our country and hold us together as one
American family, no matter who we are or where we come
from.

Nearly 400 years ago, a group of Pilgrims left their
homeland and sailed across an ocean in pursuit of
liberty and prosperity. With the friendship and
kindness of the Wampanoag people, they learned to
harvest the rich bounty of a new world. Together, they
shared a successful crop, celebrating bonds of
community during a time of great hardship. Through
times of war and of peace, the example of a Native
tribe who extended a hand to a new people has endured.
During the American Revolution and the Civil War, days
of thanksgiving drew Americans together in prayer and
in the spirit that guides us to better days, and in
each year since, our Nation has paused to show our
gratitude for our families, communities, and country.

With God's grace, this holiday season we carry forward
the legacy of our forebears. In the company of our
loved ones, we give thanks for the people we care about
and the joy we share, and we remember those who are
less fortunate. At shelters and soup kitchens,
Americans give meaning to the simple truth that binds
us together: we are our brother's and our sister's
keepers. We remember how a determined people set out
for a better world--how through faith and the charity
of others, they forged a new life built on freedom and
opportunity.

The spirit of Thanksgiving is universal. It is found in
small moments between strangers, reunions shared with
friends and loved ones, and in quiet prayers for
others. Within the heart of America's promise burns the
inextinguishable belief that together we can advance
our common prosperity--that we can build a more
hopeful, more just, and more unified Nation. This
Thanksgiving, let us recall the values that unite our
diverse country, and let us resolve to strengthen these
lasting ties.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November
27, 2014, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I
encourage the people of the United States to join
together--whether in our homes, places of worship,
community centers, or any place of fellowship for
friends and neighbors--and give thanks for all we have
received in the past year, express appreciation to
those whose lives enrich our own, and share our bounty
with others.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord
two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
ninth.