Happy Thanksgiving - the history and tradition of being thankful and sharing

First Thanksgiving feast of 1621, colonists and Wampanoago Indians

"In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies."  See  History.com/Thanksgiving.

"For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November." 

Now, the feast, at that time was not meant to include the indigenous Indians living in that area. In fact, Chief Massasoit and his 90 Wampanoag braves tuned up at the feast uninvited with the sole purpose of investigating what all the shooting had been about (remember all the fowls they’d hunted). Although the reason why they arrived unannounced is speculation on part of Dr. O’Connel, it seems reasonable enough to be accepted at face value.

The pilgrims displayed excellent manners and invited the Indians to join the feast, and as a gestural token, the Indians contributed five deer to the feast. So, historians are quite sure that the first Thanksgiving feast included venison, fowl meat, squash, onions, pumpkins, beans, and Jerusalem artichokes. There were no pies or sweet potatoes, and there was certainly no cranberry sauce, since the colonists barely had any sugar supply to make a substantial amount for the feast."  Urban Review/Observer blog, 1/19/13.  Note:  the painting is from the Urban Review website.  (Who is the Urban Review? Research Gate/The Urban Review, may be the same).   

Posted by Kathy Meeh