President Joe Biden issued a proclamation for Thanksgiving, noting Americans were grateful during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Thanksgiving provides us with a time to reflect on our many blessings — from God, this Nation, and each other,” Biden wrote. “We are grateful for these blessings, even — and especially — during times of challenge.”
Biden recalled George Washington declaring a day of Thanksgiving for his troops in the Revolutionary War, Abraham Lincoln celebrating Thanksgiving during the Civil War, and the Pilgrims celebrating Thanksgiving after their first hard year in America.
The president noted that just like the pilgrims expressed gratitude to the Wampanoag American Indians for helping them through their first year, Americans should be grateful to those who helped them through the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden specifically cited farmworkers and frontline workers for thanks, noting “many of whom are immigrants.”
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden is seen on the tarmac after stepping off Air Force One upon arrival at Nantucket Memorial Airport in Nantucket, Massachusetts on November 23, 2021. Biden is in Nantucket to spend the Thanksgiving holiday. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. President Joe Biden (C) speaks with an employee after helping assemble Thanksgiving meal kits at the DC Central Kitchen in Washington, DC, on November 23, 2021. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
He also signaled out teachers, parents, and health care workers for praise, as well as “the researchers and scientists” who helped develop the coronavirus vaccines.
“As always, we are grateful for our troops serving far from home, keeping us safe and defending our values,” he wrote.
Biden described Thanksgiving as a “cherished time” with “sacred rituals” with his family, including “throwing the football, preparing family recipes, lighting candles, and setting the table.”
“For many Americans, this Thanksgiving will be the first time gathering with loved ones in person since the start of the pandemic — a time of full tables and full hearts,” he wrote.
He also said he would be close to those who lost loved ones to the pandemic.
“As we celebrate, we will also be thinking of the many families feeling the pain of an empty chair at the Thanksgiving table,” he wrote. “You are not alone, and our Nation stands with you.”
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