From the earliest days of my nation, Americans have set aside a special time to join together in thanksgiving, no matter our race or religious background, no matter the times – good or bad. The tradition serves to deepen the sense of appreciation that families and friends feel as they come together in thankfulness and mutual support, even when times are hard. Thanksgiving presents an opportunity to refocus on the many blessings we have: our family, our friends, our beliefs, and our community.

The year 1621 was the first recorded celebration of Thanksgiving in the New World. The Plymouth Pilgrims were destitute and starving until the Native Americans living thereabouts offered food to sustain them and taught them the skills they needed to survive in their new homeland. In celebration and thanksgiving, the Pilgrims invited their neighbours to share in their first bountiful harvest. The custom of inclusivity and sharing delicious food continues as Americans gather in fellowship to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Another example of cooperation and support occurred even before that "first Thanksgiving". A decade before the Native Americans gave succor to the Plymouth Pilgrims, Bermuda had become a lifeline for the struggling settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. The Jamestown settlers looked to Bermuda for fresh produce. It is one of the first examples of Bermudians and Americans coming together in unity, in support of each other. Those life-sustaining shipments of food marked the beginning of a 400-year-old relationship between the settlements that eventually became the United States of America and Bermuda.

Over a century and a half later, the idea of a formal Thanksgiving observation became entrenched in the United States. In 1777, Samuel Adams recommended that a date be set aside for "solemn thanksgiving and praise, that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor ..." The 13 states adopted the idea. President George Washington penned the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789, designating a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. He wrote about "acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God, especially by affording them (the people of the United States) an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.".

Since those earliest times, the celebration of Thanksgiving has become a treasured annual tradition that is shared by Americans wherever they may be, at home or abroad. Over 8,000 Americans call Bermuda home, and the American Society invites them, and our Bermudian friends, to today's 12.15 p.m. Thanksgiving Day Service at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. The American Society will serve light refreshments in the church hall immediately following the service. I hope that you will be able to join us as we give thanks for the friendship and cooperation between our two countries and for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon us.

Grace Shelton is the US Consul General to Bermuda