The Origin of Thanksgiving

“The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth” (1914)
by Jennie A. Brownscombe

A crisp November morning arrives and with it the promise of a turkey with all the fixings. Thanksgiving is a beloved national holiday that usually involves doing the infamous turkey shuffle from the house of relatives. What do we really know about this stomach stuffing holiday anyway? Is it really like the stories of our childhood with happy pilgrims and their Native American counterparts?

It should be noted that the exact date of the first Thanksgiving celebrated by the Pilgrims is unknown, according to National Geographic. In fact, the story of the first Thanksgiving is varied in some of its retellings. Some experts report that the ideal first Thanksgiving that we know has only been around for 120 years right – after the First World War. “Thanksgiving” had officially been declared by Massachusetts colony governor, John Winthrop, to celebrate the safe return of a band of hunters, consisting mostly of colonial volunteers. The hunters apparently were returning from the massacre of 700 Pequot Native Americans. Relations between the native peoples and the newly venturing pilgrims were varied to say the least.

The story goes on to say that the pilgrims had a hard time conquering and maintaining their new home, due to poor planning and insufficient skill sets. The pilgrims were poor hunters on their own, and knew nothing about catching game or preparing them for a meal. They would participate in days of fasting, followed by a meal, and were thankful to God for their good fortune of eating again. These thankful rejoicings were recorded, and in them came the first mention of the word Thanksgiving.

Needless to say, the first Thanksgiving for the pilgrims would be no extravagant meal with dessert as we know it now. The settling people were lucky to have barely a potato or fish. Tensions were so bad between settlers and natives that the meal between them was not shared.

However, other experts go on to report a much more lighthearted story. Instead telling of people coming out of a harsh winter in 1620 and finding friendly relations with a group of surrounding native people. These native people, called the Wampanoag tribe, taught the settlers to fish and hunt, resulting in a bountiful harvest. The two peoples would come together to celebrate a meal to commemorate their bountiful harvest, which lasted three days.

The tradition of celebrating this meal would not be repeated for several more years. Experts speculate that the meal possibly took place in late September or early October. The Pilgrim Hall Museum reports that a supposed 53 colonists attended the event, but they did not call the meal Thanksgiving. It has also been reported that the meal was not at a long table with a table cloth, as is often the depiction. Rather, those participating in the meal most likely sat on the ground around the table, with outdoor fires blazing, and venison and birds on the menu.

Thanksgiving would not be celebrated as a national holiday until declared so by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 on the last Thursday of November. Since then, the holiday has evolved into the turkey-induced coma Black Friday frenzy that it is today. Please enjoy a safe holiday as you partake in the ever-evolving history of a national celebration of thanks.