Thanksgiving History

 

Was there really a Thanksgiving Meeting between English colonists and Wampanoag people?  Apparently yes, but it was not necessarily what we have mythologized today.  It was not called Thanksgiving, nor was its purpose a celebration of thanks.  The most likely purpose was a harvest feast.  It is questionable whether the Indians were invited guests or simply Wampanoag men who heard the gunfire of colonists hunting for the feast and they joined them. 

It seems that there actually was a three-day harvest feast in 1621 by the colonists that were joined by Wampanoag men who joined in the hunting and were included in the celebration.  There was a feast, but it probably consisted of deer, corn, and shellfish, not the turkey we traditionally enjoy.  

Thanksgiving is a lovely holiday, but it is not the romanticized version we celebrate today.  The holiday we enjoy today was not established until 1863, not the 1621 gathering of English colonists.  Our modern holiday was declared by President Lincoln in the midst of the Civil War. 

While my research described above seems about as accurate as an event that occurred in 1621 can be, other versions can be found.  Some suggest that Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoags, and ninety of his men were invited to a feast to celebrate a land deal.  

A more gruesome story is that in 1637 more than seven hundred Pequot were gathered for their annual green corn dance and Colonists surrounded the village and set it on fire, shooting any Pequot who tried to escape. The next day the Massachusetts Bay governor declared it a day of thanksgiving. 

 I think for most of us, Thanksgiving is a day of family and traditions. I have many memories of Beck families, gathering at the home where my father and his siblings were raised. Somehow, we made room around the table for everyone. My husband and I lived away from home for many years, but we continued the traditional family meals for Thanksgiving, adding a few of our own.  If we were invited to join friends for Thanksgiving, my husband would ask me to make our own traditional dinner the next day, so we could enjoy our traditional meal and have leftovers to enjoy.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!