Thanksgiving Day, 2007

Proclamation 8204 of November 15, 2007

Thanksgiving Day, 2007

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Americans are a grateful people, ever mindful of the
many ways we have been blessed. On Thanksgiving Day, we
lift our hearts in gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy,
the people we love, and the gifts of our prosperous
land.

Our country was founded by men and women who realized
their dependence on God and were humbled by His
providence and grace. The early explorers and settlers
who arrived in this land gave thanks for God's
protection and for the extraordinary natural abundance
they found. Since the first National Day of
Thanksgiving was proclaimed by President George
Washington, Americans have come together to offer
thanks for our many blessings. We recall the great
privilege it is to live in a land where freedom is the
right of every person and where all can pursue their
dreams. We express our deep appreciation for the
sacrifices of the honorable men and women in uniform
who defend liberty. As they work to advance the cause
of freedom, our Nation keeps these brave individuals
and their families in our thoughts, and we pray for
their safe return.

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. By answering the
universal call to love a neighbor as we want to be
loved ourselves, we make our Nation a more hopeful and
caring place.

This Thanksgiving, may we reflect upon the past year
with gratefulness and look toward the future with hope.
Let us give thanks for all we have been given and ask
God to continue to bless our families and our Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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 22, 2007,
as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all
Americans to gather together in their homes and places
of worship with family, friends, and loved ones to
reinforce the ties that bind us and give thanks for the
freedoms and many blessings we enjoy.

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