Thanksgiving History: Giving Thanks and Notorious Pilgrims

Every year we cook the turkey, gather friends and family and share stories. But where does the tradition of Thanksgiving come from? How does the feast of today figure into American history and how distorted have the stories of pilgrims, corn and pumpkins become? The celebration of Thanksgiving does falls in line with English and Native American harvest festivals and in 1621 a myth about the American Thanksgiving began to form. A colonist named Edward Winslow wrote a romanticized account of a three-day feast between Native Americans and a group of colonists in Plymouth. It included descriptions of camaraderie and shared food but left out the Native American perspective of the occasion.

A native guide and interpreter known as Massasoit was informed by fellow tribesman that the English were shooting and using their guns. Although the translator could not be certain whether the colonists were shooting game for dinner or starting a war, he arrived back at the colony with approximately 90-armed men. It seemed a cautious approach to the recent arrivals. As soon as Massasoit realized the shooting was merely the hunting before a harvest feast, he sent his own men out to find contributions and settled down to share the meal. What the real story of the first Thanksgiving tells us is the mistrust between American natives and its new colonists was early and well placed. It wasn’t until 1777 that the first official nationwide Thanksgiving celebration took place. In fact, the feast that year was to celebrate the defeat of the British during the battle of Saratoga. Early 19th century historians mistakenly labeled the Plymouth sit down (rather than possible standoff) as the first Thanksgiving.

In 1863, Lincoln declared a “general blessings” holiday in November and it became the official Thanksgiving celebration we know today. Thanksgiving had very little to do with the Native Americans and more to do with victories during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. The thanks that was given traditionally stemmed around defeat in battle and not bountiful food.

Despite the fact that the meat served at the early pilgrim feast probably consisted of deer and goose, the turkey became the traditional main course of the Thanksgiving meal. At one time, the turkey was under consideration for the nation’s symbolic bird rather than the bald eagle. This may be the reason that over 40 million turkeys are cooked and served with stuffing every November. The other traditional foods such as pumpkin, yams, corn and cranberries are harvested in the late fall making them fresh for the plate at Thanksgiving time. Although there is no real evidence to suggest these foods were served during those three days in Plymouth, there is no evidence to say that they were not served.

Similar to the Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter, Thanksgiving customs are centered around family, prayer, food and being grateful, reflecting days of worship and festival throughout the ages. The education and awareness of Native Americans and American history that takes place during the holiday acts as adequate compensation for a few muddled facts back in 1621.

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