Speeches

Remarks of Ambassador John Price on the occasion of a Thanksgiving Luncheon Macarty House

November 25, 2004

Good friends and honored guests,

Thank you for coming today to Macarty House to join me for our Thanksgiving holiday celebration.  I am happy to welcome all the Americans living here in Mauritius, and also the alumni of American universities.  

Thanksgiving is a unique American holiday.  It is celebrated by Americans across the United States, whatever their race, religion, or creed.  It is a time for reflection, family reunions, and community sharing.  Thanksgiving is also commemorated around the world, wherever Americans are gathered.   

What many regard as the Nation’s first Thanksgiving took place in the winter of 1621 as the religious separatist Pilgrims held a three-day feast to celebrate a bountiful harvest.  Much has changed for America in the nearly 400 years since that first Thanksgiving.  Generations of hardworking men and women have cultivated our soil and worked the land, and today America's bounty helps feed the world.  The promise of freedom that sustained our founders through the hardships of the Revolution and the first challenging days of nationhood has become a reality for millions of immigrants who left their homelands for a new life in the New World.  A light of freedom shines brightly in many nations that once lived in the shadows of tyranny and oppression.

Thanksgiving is a day when all Americans congregate in their homes and community centers to share the spirit of goodwill and give thanks for their freedom and prosperity.  It is a day to express heartfelt gratitude for the blessings of life, and to reach out in friendship to others.  America's oldest tradition, Thanksgiving is a reaffirmation of our most deeply held values.  Americans today still cherish the fresh air of freedom, in which we can raise our families and worship as we choose, without fear of persecution.  We still rejoice in our great land and in the civil and religious liberty it offers to all.  And we still raise our voices in prayer and thanksgiving for the countless blessings bestowed on our nation and our people.   We also recognize our good fortune to live here in Mauritius among a diverse society that puts great value on family and the freedoms we hold dear. 

Thanksgiving started as a traditional New England holiday that celebrated family and community.  It has continued to be exactly that.  Here in Mauritius we gather as Americans and friends of America.  We celebrate and give thanks for family and community here in Mauritius, in the United States, and perhaps in other places around the world.  We give thanks that we are able to be together to share our friendship today.

Thank you for joining me here today.