The First American Thanksgiving
is attributed to the autumnal feast held by the Pilgrims
and Massasoit in 1621. The Mayflower passengers,
having survived a rather challenging winter in the
"New World" and having managed to harvest their
surviving crops, hosted a feast which was an
English tradition that signaled the end of harvest time.
The Massasoit's religion demanded that they
help those who came with empty hands. The
recently landed newcomers had been in such
need during their first year in the territory.
Additionally, the Massasoit were members
of the widespread confederacy of Algonkian-
speaking people known as the League of
Delaware. They were also the most important
and influential sachem of the Wamapanoag.
It was because of the Massasoit's generosity
and in hopes to negotiate a land deal that
they were invited to the harvest celebration
with the Separatists. The most noteworthy
and historically familiar member of the Native
party was Squanto, who was the only non-
Separatist who had been formally educated
and baptized a Christian.
The date of the feast is unknown. However,
it must have occurred previously to December
as that is the month that one of the only
written accounts first is documented. There
are only two known written eyewitness reports
of the event; that of Edward Winslow and
William Bradford who described the details
of the fishing and hunting expeditions and
the fact that the festivities lasted three days.
The Massasoit, ninety individuals in totem,
provided five deer for the feast. Among some
of the other edible items were duck, geese,
turkey, fish, and corn. It is unlikely that the
dishes presented were extravagant because
the colonists weren't aware when the next
ship docking would take place and would
have conserved whatever spices they had.
There are many myths surrounding the
modern day celebration of Thanksgiving.
Although Thanksgiving as a holiday can
be traced to the harvest celebration of 1621,
it was neither a feast held annually or meant
as a celebration of giving thanks. Just two years
later, in 1623, there is no mention of a Thanksgiving
feast.
The Pilgrims were primarily a Separatist group
who arrived in Massachusetts the previous year.
Their visual use in Thanksgiving decorations is
often misconstrued. The familiar black and
white garb with the large buckles that we
see today is incorrect. The appearance is
related to Puritans who arrived in the Americas
later and who only used the black and white garb
occasionally. Buckles weren't in production until
the late 1600's as well.
When a member of the Mayflower party would
die, an inventory of their belongings would be
assessed. Most inventories revealed a tendency
for darker colors, but many people had a wide
range of color in their clothing collections.
The Pilgrims weren't the only ones misrepresented
in latter day artwork and stories. The Massasoit
are typically depicted in costumes that are more
closely related to Plains tribes.
The first national Thanksgiving was declared in
1777 by the Continental Congress. It wasn't yet
an observed holiday and several other "Thanksgiving"
days were proclaimed inconsistently until 1815.
Thanksgiving reverted to being a regional event
until 1863 when two days were declared. The first
being August 6th after the victory at Gettysburg
and the second being the first last-Thursday-in-
November celebration. Abraham Lincoln was the
first American President to proclaim Thanksgiving
a nationally observed holiday as the insistence of
a long-time advocate, Sarah Hale. However, in 1939,
Franklin D. Roosevelt believed the holiday to fall too
close to Christmas
and made a motion for it to be celebrated on the third
Thursday in November. Not every State complied. In
1941, a joint resolution of Congress chose the fourth
Thursday in November, which is not always the last
Thursday in the month.
Today, Thanksgiving isn't considered Thanksgiving
unless there is a bountiful feast of turkey and all the
trimmings, images of Pilgrims and Native Americans,
or the ever popular pumpkin. Through the years, it's
become a religiously affiliated holiday and trips to
local churches as well as providing a banquet for
the less fortunate have become seasonal traditions.
