The unique and quirky New Hampshire holiday called Fast Day no longer legally exists. In 1991 the New Hampshire legislature abolished Fast Day in favor of creating a new holiday, Civil Rights Day (Chapter 206, Laws of 1991). The legislature, quite properly, wanted to honor civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King, but it was "…not the intent of the general court…to create an additional paid holiday for state employees." Therefore the archaic Fast Day was abolished.

Fast days were a common occurrence in the early days of the colonies. These were days of public humiliation, fasting and prayer proclaimed by the royal governors of the colonies to avert or repent for calamities such as plagues, earthquakes, crop failures, etc. Fast days were generally held before the spring planting, and a thanksgiving day was held after the harvest. Fast days were celebrated with a sermon, abstinence from secular pursuits, and at least partial abstinence from eating. Cotton Mather wrote "We may not eat or drink so much, nor may we eat or drink so well, on such a day, as at another time.".

The earliest known fast day proclamation was in Boston on September 8, 1670. New Hampshire’s first recorded proclamation of a fast day was in early 1680. The President and Council of the Province of New Hampshire issued a document in February 1680 that called for a meeting of the General Assembly for March 16th. They appointed February 26th as a "day of humiliation" to ask God to "bless us with peace & prosperitie", favor the upcoming meeting and to "favor spring & seede time". People were cautioned to abstain from work and attend church (Provincial Papers of New Hampshire, vol. XIX).

John Cutt, President of the Council that declared this day of humiliation, became the reason for a day of "public fasting and prayer." Cutt was born in England in 1613, emigrated to the colonies in 1646, and became a prosperous merchant in Portsmouth. On January 1, 1680 New Hampshire, previously under the wing of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, became a royal colony with a separate government. This government consisted of an appointed council of 9 men with a president (John Cutt), and an assembly of representatives from the towns. However, the elderly Cutt fell ill, and on March 1, 1681 the Council and General Assembly designated the 17th of March 1681 "A day of public fasting and prayer." They felt that Cutt’s illness and the recent sighting of a comet were signs of "divine displeasure." The day of fasting and prayer was unsuccessful and John Cutt died on April 1, 1681.
 

Despite this lack of success, the colonists continued to observe fast days on a regular basis. However, by the late 1800’s the observance of a fast day had lost much of its original religious meaning. There was therefore a push by most state legislatures to abolish this holiday. In 1894 Massachusetts abolished Fast Day and substituted Patriot’s Day. Maine soon followed suit. In 1897, Governor Ramsdell of New Hampshire urged the legislature, who annually proclaimed a Fast Day on various dates, to totally abolish the holiday. Instead the legislature passed an act in 1899 making Fast Day a legal holiday (Chapter 11, Laws of 1899). The date was flexible.
It became the custom for the governor to designate the last Thursday in April as Fast Day. This continued until 1949 when the legislature established Fast Day as the 4th Monday in April (Chapter 270, Laws of 1949). New Hampshire continued as the sole state to have Fast Day as a legal holiday until 1991, when Fast Day fell to the new Civil Rights Day.

Gilbreth, Donna. "Rise and Fall of Fast Day". New Hampshire State Library. 1997

The government continues to enforce tolerance and acceptance all the while stiffling Christians from speaking the Name of Jesus Christ. We can either be quiet and "go with the flow" or we can take a stand for God and not be ashamed to speak the Name of Jesus Christ and continue to live out or faith, as we plan to do on September 10th through the day of fasting and prayer! The government may continue to remove Christ from our culture, but that does not mean that we have to!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose…If God is for us, who can be against us?…Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?…No in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us…[nothing] in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."        Romans 8:28, 31b, 35, 37, 39bc

For more information regarding the day of fasting and prayer, on September 10th, 2011, visit OneChurchinChrist.com

Submitted by KRLoos

A Call for America to Dial 911 to Jesus Christ!

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…” Psalm 127:1

Date: Friday September 9th, 2011 Time: 7pm – 9pm

Location: My Father’s House (140 Pound Rd Elma, NY 14059)

We will be having prayer, praise and worship and speakers to kick off this prayer event. Please join us Friday, September 9th from 7-9pm at My Fathers House Church. The Jesus Band will be performing the prasie and worship. Ryan Loos (of RKL Financial and Wise Up with Ryan Loos) will be speaking along with Kristyn Loos and Rev. Robert B Palaszewski from Absolute Truth and Prophecy. We looked forward to seeing you there and joining us in praise, worship and prayer.

Worship, Prayer & Fasting – From 12am (9/10) – 12 am (9/11)

Our Country’s Current Prayer Requests:

1. God’s Mercy and Grace as we strive to right “the ship” back to His command.

2.Godly leadership. Wisdom as we seek resolution for our current moral, political and economic crises.

3. For the United States to stand in support of Israel.

4. God’s protection over our country as well as for the service men and women still fighting for our freedom.

5. God’s compassion for the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and healing and hope through Christ for the loved ones they left behind.