A Little History

Every school child knows that the tradition of Thanksgiving started with the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. But a lot of us don't know the details of that event and how their small celebration evolved into the institution it is today.

Following a hard winter which claimed the lives of 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower, the group faced an uncertain future. But, with the help of the local natives, they had a bountiful harvest in the fall of 1621 and decided to celebrate with a feast. They invited, of course, the 91 Indians who had helped them survive their first year.

While turkey and all the trimmings is a staple of today's Thanksgiving feast, it's very unlikely that the colonists in old Massachusetts enjoyed it themselves. They applied the term "turkey" to just about any sort of wild fowl. Their menu included venison, boiled pumpkin, fish, berries, clams, lobster and plums. Governor William Bradford also sent "four men fowling" for wild ducks and geese. The festival lasted three days, but was not repeated until 1623 when the colonists celebrated a badly needed rain.

Some might assume that the practice continued through the years, but is was actually another halfcentury before the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts proclaimed June 29 as a day of thanksgiving for the good fortune experienced by the community. It's notable that the local "heathen natives" were not included in the event as their conquest was one of the reasons for the celebration.

October of 1777 marked the first time all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration marking the victory over the British at Saratoga. President George Washington proclaimed a National day of Thanksgiving in 1789, though many felt that the hardships of a few pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday.

It was the campaign of a magazine writer, Sarah Josepha Hale, which led President Abraham Lincoln to proclaim the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving. The exact date was changed a few times, but has remained the same since 1941 when Congress made it a legal holiday.

Those first few settlers had survived against tremendous odds. They gave thanks for what little they had and went on to build the foundation of what became the United States of America. However you observe this holiday, take time to remember those who made it possible.