Did You Ever Wonder... about “We Gather Together”

We Gather Together" is probably the most famous Thanksgiving hymn.  While we in this country attribute it to the holiday, it has a very different origin.

 At the time the hymn was written, the Dutch were engaged in a war of national liberation against the Catholic King Philip II of Spain. "Wilt heden nu treden," "We gather together" resonated because under the Spanish King, Dutch Protestants were forbidden to gather for worship. The hymn first appeared in print in a 1626 collection of Dutch folk and patriotic songs, Nederlandtsche Gedenck-Clanck by Adriaen Valerius.

 The English words that we sing actually are not a translation of the original Dutch lyrics, but rather are a paraphrase.  In addition, there are different protestant and Catholic versions of this hymn- the protestant version is the one most of us know, while the Catholic version has more priestly language and talks heavily about the Holy Trinity in a way that the protestant version does not.  

 The first time that we saw this hymn in an American hymnal was in 1903, which was in part because it remained popular amongst the Dutch and therefore the Dutch Reformed Church included it in their hymnal.  From there its use spread to other denominations.