Thanksgiving History

Some history is in order as we begin preparations for Thanksgiving. The first Thanksgiving was observed in 1621 by the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The traditional version of the first Thanksgiving is that the stalwart Pilgrim settlers were giving thanks for the harvest and included the Wampanoag tribe which had taught the newcomers how to grow corn, beans, and wild rice and also provided turkey for the feast. That’s fairly accurate but leaves out a few details.

In 1621, the Pilgrims were not having an easy time of it. The Plymouth Colony had been established for one year and failure was a distinct possibility. The Pilgrims, quite simply, didn’t know how to survive in the harsh new environment. Their collective knowledge simply didn’t work well and it was doubtful the colony would make it another year. Starvation looked inevitable.

Then Squanto, a member of the Patuxet tribe, arrived on the scene and taught them how to survive. He had been enslaved in England, escaped and made his way back home. He taught the settlers how to grow crops, how to catch eels, how to survive the cold. His own tribe had died out from some sort of epidemic while he was in England. By virtue of speaking English, Squanto was able to serve as liaison between the Pilgrims and King Massasoit, the leader of the Wampanoag tribe which now occupied the area. It was that relationship which led the king to donate large gifts of food to the struggling colony which enabled them to survive and led to that first feast which lasted three days and included cod, eels, bass, clams, lobster, mussels, duck, geese, swans, turkey, venison, berries, squash, pumpkin, peas, beans, and corn.

Native peoples have a tradition of sharing with those who are in need. The native definition of success has long been for those who have been successful to provide for those who have less. It’s a far cry from our glorification of those who amass the most for themselves. Today we can wonder, if King Massasoit had known that the arrival of Europeans would lead to the near annihilation of native life, would he have been so generous?

We celebrate Thanksgiving as a time of gratitude, a time to give thanks for all we have. Perhaps it is time for us to add the realization that the Pilgrims were, and every one of us alive today are dependent upon others. No one makes it on their own. Both our ancestors and we need help to make it in life.

It is also worth noting that the Pilgrims only came to this country because they belonged to a persecuted religious minority but they then proceeded to embrace a set of beliefs that denied religious freedom to anyone not precisely like themselves.

In place of simple gratitude for all we have on Thanksgiving we can also remember that unearned hospitality for those unlike ourselves is a foundational stone in the edifice of our county.