Days of gratitude have been a long tradition on this continent. A group of settlers who arrived in Maine in 1607 held a service of thanksgiving for a safe journey to these shores. William Bradford of the Plymouth Colony proclaimed a special day of gratitude to the Almighty God when the settlers gathered in a bounteous harvest. The Battle of Saratoga was commemorated, at the orders of the Continental Congress, with a day of thanksgiving, the first time all the colonies observed the day together. Washington at Valley Forge and Lincoln in the midst of the Civil War proclaimed a nationwide observance of thanksgiving. Throughout our history, both in the United States and Canada, the tradition has continued in unbroken sequence. And this year again by presidential proclamation we observe this da…