Typical Thools

Day of prayer and thanksgiving on Tholen and Sint Philipsland

The 'day of prayer and thanksgiving for crops and labour' is a Christian holiday. Reformed and reformed residents in particular attend church services to thank God. It is an age-old tradition, also in our municipality. In the Middle Ages there were the so-called 'days of prayer'. During violent events, such as a flood, war or crop failure, the entire population stopped working for a day to pray together. When Protestantism arose in the 16th century and people were given more regular work, these irregular days of prayer changed into regular celebrations: day of prayer and thanksgiving. The fact that entrepreneurs also actively participate in that day ensures that some of the Thool companies, shops, associations and schools are closed or inactive all day.

Deviation from the rule
Most of the churches in our country keep the national date for the day of prayer and thanksgiving. The other parts differ for various reasons. This also applies to our islands of Tholen and Sint Philipsland. What is the reason why days of thanksgiving and prayer days deviate from the national rule within our congregation?

• Climatic reason: in large parts of Zeeland, crops such as beets are out of the ground later than in other parts of the Netherlands. Actually, there was no time to celebrate Thanksgiving. The harvest could not be postponed, the Thanksgiving Day could.
• Geographical reason: in the past the Zeeland islands were more isolated and dependent on themselves. A day was chosen per island for the prayer and thanksgiving services. This has remained the case on a number of islands.

Fixed times in the year
Day of Prayer is held nationally on the 2nd Wednesday of March, in our municipality it is the last Wednesday of February. Thanksgiving Day falls nationally on the 1st Wednesday of November and in our municipality two weeks later. Several services are held during these days by various churches. In our province, the more conservative congregations often still hold three services, elsewhere in the country usually two or only one church service.

Practical foundation
The shortage of pastors in many ecclesiastical congregations may also explain the fragmentation. Various church congregations used to deviate more easily from the official date if they could get a pastor for their prayer and thanksgiving services. For example, the custom grew from history to keep these days on a day other than the official date. Now this spread is an added advantage. Because the days of prayer and thanksgiving are held on different Wednesdays, pastors can also serve a congregation elsewhere. Almost all Zeeland municipalities therefore have a pastor who presides on their own day of thanksgiving.