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From Wikipedia:
The first North American
celebration of these festivals by Europeans was held in
Newfoundland by
Martin Frobisher and the
Frobisher Expedition in
1578.
Another such festival
occurred on
December 4,
1619
when 38
colonists from Berkeley Parish in
England disembarked in
Virginia and gave thanks to
God.
Most people
recognize the first Thanksgiving as taking place on
an unremembered date, sometime in the autumn of
1621, when the
Pilgrims in Massachusetts held a three-day feast
to celebrate the bountiful harvest they reaped
following their first winter in North America.
Prior to this, there was
also a Thanksgiving feast celebrated by
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (along with friendly
Teya Indians) on
23 May
1541 in
Texas'
Palo Duro Canyon, to celebrate his expedition's discovery of
food supplies. Some hold this to be the true first Thanksgiving in
North America.
Another such event
occurred a quarter century later on
September 8,
1565 in
St. Augustine when
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed; he and his men shared a feast
with the natives.
Thanksgiving in
the United States
The
Pilgrims set apart a day for thanksgiving at
Plymouth immediately after their first harvest, in
1621; the Massachusetts Bay Colony for the first
time in 1630, and frequently thereafter until about
1680, when it became an annual festival in that
colony; and Connecticut as early as 1639 and
annually after 1647, except in 1675. The Dutch in
New Netherland appointed a day for giving thanks
in 1644 and occasionally thereafter.
During the
American Revolutionary War the Continental
Congress appointed one or more thanksgiving days
each year, except in 1777, each time recommending to
the executives of the various states the observance
of these days in their states.
George Washington, leader of the revolutionary
forces in the
American Revolutionary War, proclaimed a
Thanksgiving in December
1777 as a victory celebration honoring the
defeat of the British at
Saratoga. The
Continental Congress proclaimed annual December
Thanksgivings from 1777 to
1783, except in
1782.
George
Washington again proclaimed Thanksgivings, now as
President, in
1789 and
1795. President
John Adams declared Thanksgivings in
1798 and
1799. President Madison, in response to
resolutions of Congress, set apart a day for
thanksgiving at the close of the War of 1812.
Madison declared the holiday twice in
1815; however, none of these was celebrated in
autumn.
One was
annually appointed by the governor of New York from
1817. In some of the
Southern states there was opposition to the
observance of such a day on the ground that it was a
relic of Puritanic bigotry, but by
1858 proclamations appointing a day of
thanksgiving were issued by the governors of 25
states and two Territories.
In the
middle of the Civil War, prompted by a series of
editorials written by
Sarah Josepha Hale, the last of which appeared
in the September 1863 issue of
Godey's Lady's Book, President
Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national
Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final
Thursday in November
1863:
Since 1863,
Thanksgiving has been observed annually in the
United States.
In 1939,
President
Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that Thanksgiving
would be the next to last Thursday of November
rather than the last. With the country still in the
midst of
The Great Depression, Roosevelt thought this
would give merchants a longer period to sell goods
before
Christmas. Increasing profits and spending
during this period, Roosevelt hoped, would aid
bringing the country out of the Depression. At the
time, it was considered inappropriate to advertise
goods for Christmas until after Thanksgiving.
However, Roosevelt's declaration was not mandatory;
twenty-three states went along with this
recommendation, and 22 did not. Other states, like
Texas, could not decide and took both weeks as
government holidays. Roosevelt persisted in 1940 to
celebrate his "Franksgiving," as it was termed. The
U.S. Congress in 1941 split the difference and
established that the Thanksgiving would occur
annually on the fourth Thursday of November, which
was sometimes the last Thursday and sometimes the
next to last. On
November 26 that year President Roosevelt signed
this bill into U.S. law.
Since
1970, a group of
Native Americans and others have held a
National Day of Mourning protest on Thanksgiving
at
Plymouth Rock in
Plymouth, Massachusetts. Thanksgiving day, for
them, is a reminder of the
genocide of millions of Native people, the theft
of Native lands, and the relentless assault on
Native culture. Participants in National Day of
Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of
Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of
remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a
protest of the racism and oppression which Native
Americans continue to experience. The protest is
organized by the United American Indians of
New England (UAINE).
From
the Christian Science Monitor:
No one is certain whether the
Wampanoag and the colonists regularly sat together and shared their
food, or if the three-day "thanksgiving" feast Mr. Winslow recorded
for posterity was a one-time event.
In the culture of the Wampanoag Indians, who inhabited the area
around Cape Cod, "thanksgiving" was an everyday activity. "We as
native people [traditionally] have thanksgivings as a daily, ongoing
thing," says Linda Coombs, associate director of the Wampanoag
program at Plimoth Plantation. "Every time anybody went hunting or
fishing or picked a plant, they would offer a prayer or
acknowledgment."
But for the 52 colonists -
who had experienced a year of disease, hunger, and diminishing hopes
- their bountiful harvest was cause for a special celebration to
give thanks. "Neither the English people nor the native people in
1621 knew they were having the first Thanksgiving," Ms. Coombs says.
No one knew that the details would interest coming generations.
What was on the
menu?
First, wild turkey was
never mentioned in Winslow's account. It is probable that the large
amounts of "fowl" brought back by four hunters were seasonal
waterfowl such as duck or geese.
And if cranberries were served, they would have been used for their
tartness or color, not the sweet sauce or relish so common today. In
fact, it would be 50 more years before berries were boiled with
sugar and used as an accompaniment to meat.
Potatoes weren't part of the feast, either. Neither the sweet potato
nor the white potato was yet available to colonists.
The presence of pumpkin pie appears to be a myth, too. The group may
have eaten pumpkins and other squashes native to New England, but it
is unlikely that they had the ingredients for pie crust - butter and
wheat flour. Even if they had possessed butter and flour, the
colonists hadn't yet built an oven for baking.
"While we have been able to work out which modern dishes were not
available in 1621, just what was served is a tougher nut to crack,"
Ms. Curtin says. A couple of guesses can be made from other passages
in Winslow's correspondence about the general diet at the time:
lobsters, mussels, "sallet herbs," white and red grapes, black and
red plums, and flint corn.
But the 19th century had its own Martha Stewart, and it didn't take
her long to turn New England fasting into national feasting. Sarah
Josepha Hale, editor of the popular Godey's Lady's Book, stumbled
upon Winslow's passage and refused to let the historic day fade from
the minds - or tables - of Americans. This established trendsetter
filled her magazine with recipes and editorials about Thanksgiving.
It was also about this time - in 1854, to be exact - that Bradford's
history book of Plymouth Plantation resurfaced. The book increased
interest in the Pilgrims, and Mrs. Hale and others latched onto the
fact he mentioned that the colonists had killed wild turkeys during
the autumn.
In her magazine Hale wrote appealing articles about roasted turkeys,
savory stuffing, and pumpkin pies - all the foods that today's
holiday meals are likely to contain. In the process, she created
holiday "traditions" that share few similarities with the original
feast in 1621.
In 1858, Hale petitioned the president of the United States to
declare Thanksgiving a national holiday. She wrote: "Let this day,
from this time forth, as long as our Banner of Stars floats on the
breeze, be the grand Thanksgiving holiday of our nation, when the
noise and tumult of worldliness may be exchanged for the length of
the laugh of happy children, the glad greetings of family reunion,
and the humble gratitude of the Christian heart."
What historians
do know about Thanksgiving
There are many myths
surrounding Thanksgiving. Here are nine things we do know are true
about the holiday.
1. The first Thanksgiving was a harvest celebration in 1621 that
lasted for three days.
2. The feast most likely occurred between Sept. 21 and Nov. 11.
3. Approximately 90 Wampanoag Indians and 52 colonists - the latter
mostly women and children - participated.
4. The Wampanoag, led by Chief Massasoit, contributed at least five
deer to the feast.
5. Cranberry sauce, potatoes - white or sweet - and pies were not on
the menu.
6. The Pilgrims and Wampanoag communicated through Squanto, a member
of the Patuxet tribe, who knew English because he had associated
with earlier explorers.
7. Besides meals, the event included recreation and entertainment.
8. There are only two surviving descriptions of the first
Thanksgiving. One is in a letter by colonist Edward Winslow. He
mentions some of the food and activities. The second description was
in a book written by William Bradford 20 years afterward. His
account was lost for almost 100 years.
9. Abraham Lincoln named Thanksgiving an annual holiday in 1863.
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From
Plimouth Plantation:
The Separatists who
founded Plymouth Colony observed three holy days; the weekly
Sabbath, the Day of Humiliation and Fasting, and the Day of
Thanksgiving and Praise.
...
A 1685 Day of Thanksgiving in the Plymouth church was held for
"continuance of spirituall & civill liberties, a good harvest
notwithstanding a threatening drought, & for health." In the minds
of the Plymouth colonists, that mixture of events were all traceable
to one source - God - and his relationship with the community.
Relief from misfortune would come (they hoped) after reconciliation
with God through fasting, prayer and repentance. Fortunate events
required public expression of gratitude with praise and
thanksgiving.
Prior to the mid-1800s,
Thanksgiving had nothing to do with the 1621 harvest celebration,
Pilgrims or Native People. Thanksgiving started as a traditional New
England holiday that celebrated family and community. It descended
from Puritan days of fasting and festive rejoicing. The governor of
each colony or state declared a day of thanksgiving each autumn, to
give thanks for general blessings. As New Englanders moved west in
the late 18th and early 19th centuries, they took their holiday with
them. After the harvest, governors across the country proclaimed
individual Thanksgivings, and families traveled back to their
original homes for family reunions, church services and large meals.
Native
Traditions of Giving Thanks
by Nancy Eldredge,
Education Manager, Wampanoag Indian Program
The American custom of giving thanks did not begin with the arrival
of European colonists. Spirituality was (and is) a deeply sacred and
personal part of Wampanoag life. Everything is sacred, and giving
thanks for the Creator’s gifts is an integral part of daily life.
From ancient times up to the present day, the Native people of North
America have held ceremonies to give thanks for successful harvests
and other good fortune. According to the oral information of tribal
elders, giving thanks was the primary reason for ceremonies or
feasts.
Giving thanks was an important part of the celebrations, called
Nickommo, which are still held by the Wampanoag. Give-away
ceremonies, feasting, dancing and sports and games were common
features of these occasions. Give-away ceremonies show gratefulness
to the Creator who provides for the people and makes possible the
blessings celebrated. The act of giving away material things shows
respect and caring for others, while reminding the participants that
material objects are only secondary to one’s spiritual life.
Most of us grew up learning that in November we honor the act of the Indians having a wonderful feast with Pilgrims. This is partially true, yet mostly false (and even worse) at the same time.
When Brits landed on this soil in 1614, they soon returned, with many Natives bound for slavery. They left behind them a pox epidemic. When they returned to the same spot on a return trip, the pox had left only one member of the Patuxet tribe alive. His name was Tisquantum (commonly known as
Squanto). He taught the Brits how to plant and grow corn, and many other skills needed to survive and thrive here. They had a wonderful feast to celebrate (it was however not called Thanksgiving).
When some of them returned to England to tell stories of a wonderful land, they sailed to "America" by boatload (including Puritans), and found a land without fences, and deemed it public domain. But, Squanto's treaty was not agreed to by other tribes. The nearby Pequot took offense to British settlers and a bloody war erupted (called The Pequot Wars).
Fast-forward a few years (1637...Groton Connecticut), all 700 Pequot men, women and children of that Pequot tribe were gathered for their Green Corn Ceremony (thanking Earth Mother for a bountiful harvest). Nearby, some children disappeared from village of settlers. They immediately blamed the Pequot (without any proof or evidence), and hired British and Dutch mercenaries- who proceeded to slaughter the whole village during their sacred Ceremony (those who came out of buildings were shot or clubbed, those who did not flee were locked inside and burned alive. The Pequot were never shown to be guilty of the crimes they were accused of (n fact, they village never did find out what happened to the children). The next day was declared a day of giving thanks by the governor...for ridding themselves of the "savages".
This "victory" led them on a path of raiding and slaughtering village after village of Natives. Children were taken as slaves, adults murdered, there was a bounty on scalps. Even the Wampanoag (who had a peaceful relationship with that colony) were not immune to the brutality. A second day of giving thanks was declared after another particularly "successful" raid. Decapitated heads were kicked through the streets (one of them being the head of the chief of those Wampanoag).
George Washington later suggested having one day a year declared as Thanksgiving, instead of having one after each raid. It was Abraham Lincoln who suggested making it a national holiday (1861)...and proceeded to send troops against a starving tribe of Oglala in Minnesota the very next day.
So where did the Pilgrim connection come from? The story says that thanks to Indian help, the harvest in 1621 was bountiful and a feast of giving thanks was had by Indians and Pilgrims, and all was happy after that.
Problem - The governor of Plymouth Plantation (William Bradford) documented in his own private journals, that the colonists went hungry for years, because they refused to work in the fields. They preferred instead to steal food. And, that the harvest of 1621 was anything but bountiful, because the fields were raided by colonists long before most of the crops were even edible.
Also, Pilgrim Plantation was not even close to Groton, Connecticut...where it was Squanto who showed British colonists (not Pilgrims) how to work the land here, and where a one-time feast was had.
The Pilgrims never had a "Thanksgiving". Their harvest of 1621 was, at best, abysmal (1622 was similar for similar yet different reasons). The harvest of 1623 was bountiful (that was a more of a political
cause). The governor had tried a socialist approach in 1622. The young/strong took offense to doing most of the work of the harvest while others shared in the benefits of their labors while not lifting a
finger, so the harvest was meager because of slacking off by the workers. He abolished socialism, and gave everyone a plot of land, to grow what they would…keep, trade or sell it as they wish….free market!...they had a bountiful harvest for the first time in years! (part of this was the weather cooperating).
Connecticut (specifically Stamford) had their first Thanksgiving in 1637 (after the massacre of the Pequot tribe). Having it “frequently” is true…as it happened after every successful raid on an Indian village.
I’ve not seen specific information about Massachusetts Bay Colony, but by implication of what I have read, it was the same 1637 as Connecticut.
Native Giving Thanks is called different things to different tribes…but often commonly called Green Corn Ceremony (except in some places where corn was not an important crop). To the Mvskoke it is called Posketv (also called
Busk, being a simplified/Anglicized version of the name). It takes place when the corn is almost ready to be harvested- it is usually in some time in August. The purpose of it is to thank The Creator for all the Gifts that have been given to The People, and all Gifts that will be given to The People. I have never participated in a busk yet. But, here is what I’ve been told about it. It is a week long (more or less) Ceremony/festival. There is sacred dancing, games, fasting of course (that is where naming it: Posketv comes from;
"to fast"), there were marriages, and more. All crimes were forgiven at this time (except for rape and murder).
It is also a new year of sorts…all the fires (as well as the Sacred Fire) in the village are doused, and all fires are
relit when the Sacred Fire is relit by the Firekeepers.
Having said all that, there is, in my mind, no reason to stop the practice of Thanksgiving (every people across this planet do it in one form or another...that is what the purpose of the Green Corn Ceremony that many tribes still do to this day). But, the myth of the Pilgrims and Indians must not be told anymore, it must be left in our past like and not propagated or allowed to move forward. Yes, the atrocities of that mindset must not be forgotten, but the false myth of Pilgrims and Indians must be allowed to fade
into nothingness.
The history of what happened back then has been glossed over with a romantic and fanciful tale to hide the
grisly truth. But, that does not mean that we cannot give thanks for what we have been blessed with in these days. It is a time of family, it is a time of sharing, it is a time of giving thanks for the blessings that we know...especially in these troubling economic times that we live in today. I have been blessed this year with a good friend offering to allow me to share a feast with her family, because I have no family or anyone I am truly that close to anymore down here, and because I do not have enough to have anything but a meager meal on my own. So, this Thanksgiving, I will be feasting with a friend and her family, and giving thanks for friends helping out one another, just like the false/mythological feast of Indians and Pilgrims.
-- Source - Michael Redturtle, Mvskoke
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