Thanksgiving Day, 2023

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 10678 of November 22, 2023

Thanksgiving Day, 2023

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

As families, loved ones, and friends across the country
come together to celebrate Thanksgiving, let us be
grateful for all the blessings of this Nation and its
limitless possibilities.

Throughout our country's history, this season of
reflection and giving thanks comes in good times and
tough ones. Before there was a United States of
America, the Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving in honor
of their first successful harvest and the support and
generosity of the Wampanoag people who made it
possible. Amid the fierce battle for our Nation's
independence, General George Washington and his troops
celebrated Thanksgiving on the way to Valley Forge.
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln
proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday to honor the
blessings of our country, even as he fought to preserve
our Union.

This week, Americans will gather with their loved ones
and families, celebrating the love they share and the
traditions they built together. To those who are also
enduring hard times or grieving the loss of a loved
one, know that we are thinking of you.

We are truly a good Nation because we are a good
people--the First Lady and I see it every time we
travel the country because we meet so many incredible
people doing the most extraordinary things. We have met
with service members, veterans, and their families, who
have selflessly served and sacrificed for our country.
We have witnessed the resolve of firefighters, police
officers, and first responders, who risk their lives
every day to protect us. We have seen the best of our
character in the doctors, nurses, scientists, public
servants, union workers, and teachers, who ensure
everyone is taken care of and no one is left behind. We
have seen all the possibilities this Nation holds in
the mothers, fathers, and caregivers, who work hard to
build a future worthy of their children's greatest
dreams, and in young people across the country, who are
the most talented, engaged, and educated generation in
history.

This Thanksgiving we are grateful for our Nation and
the incredible soul of America. May we all remember
that we are the United States of America--there is
nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 23, 2023, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I
encourage the people of the United States of America to
join together and give thanks for the friends,
neighbors, family members, and strangers who have
supported each other over the past year in a reflection
of goodwill and unity.

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