In 1902, when churches held the first Thanksgiving service established by Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, gratitude was already well established in the hearts of those who attended. Many had been saved from life-threatening diseases and severe suffering through Mrs. Eddy's book Science and Health.
New England was the home of the first Thanksgiving ever celebrated—among the Pilgrims in 1621—but the holiday gradually spread throughout the United States and into Canada. In 1863, US President Abraham Lincoln officially proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday, and it is now observed on the fourth Thursday of November. Canada, which established its national holiday in 1879, celebrates it on the second Monday in October.
Throughout the late 1890s there was increasing discussion of thankgiving in government and in the press. That this awareness of the benefits of gratitude should lead to a special annual service for Churches of Christ, Scientist, seems only natural, because gratitude is a powerful element in healing. These gatherings were also part of a larger request from Mary Baker Eddy that special services should be held on government-proclaimed religious days, "such as Thanksgiving ...."
