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English and European farmers had celebrated by "Giving Thanks" for bountiful harvests for centuries before that. Actually, the Pilgrims themselves were not much given to celebration. As staunch Calvinist Protestant Puritans they rejected the traditional holy days and religious feasts observed by the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, and regarded even the celebration of Christmas, Easter and the Saints' days as improper to their interpretation of Christian piety. Instead, they observed only the three religious holidays for which they could find New Testament justification; the Sunday Sabbath, Days of Fasting and Humiliation, and Days of Thanksgiving and Praise.
Fast Days more often occurred in the spring (when food supplies were usually running low anyway), and Thanksgiving days were customarily declared after the autumn harvest. Unlike the Catholic or Anglican Thanksgivings, the Calvinists never observed these celebrations on Sunday to avoid conflict with the Sabbath, but usually at mid-week. Long before Europeans ventured to North America, in European farmers had celebrated by "Giving Thanks" for bountiful harvests.
Despite these inhibitions, the "First American Thanksgiving" occurred between September 21 or 22, 1621, when a group of Plymouth men returned from Massachusetts, and November 9, 1621, when the ship Fortune arrived. A three-day feast was held to celebrate their first harvest, and historical references note that more than 90 aboriginal Wampanoag People joined the 50 English colonists in the fete.
A journal of Edward Winslow published in 1622, relates, in part:
"Our Corne did proue well, & God be praysed, we had a good increase of Indian Corne, and our Barly indifferent good, but our Pease not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sowne, they came vp very well, and blossomed, but the Sunne parched them in the blossome; our harvest being gotten in, our Governour sent foure men on fowling, that so we might after a more speciall manner reioyce together, after we had gathered the fruit of our labors; they foure in one day killed as much fowle, as with a little helpe beside, served the Company almost a weeke, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Armes, many of the Indians coming amongst vs, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoyt, with some nintie men, whom for three dayes we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed fiue Deere, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed upon our Governour, and upon the Captaine, and others. And although it be not alwayes so plentifull, as it was at this time with vs, yet by the goodneses of God, we are so farre from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
Turkey dinners are an emblematic Thanksgiving tradition, and a reference to turkeys and Thanksgiving appears in William Bradford's "Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation," published in 1898:
"And now begane to come in store of foule, as winter aproached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degree). And besids water foule, ther was great store of wild Turkies, of which they took many, besids venison, &c. Besids they had aboute a peck a meale a weeke to a person, or now since harvest, Indean corne to yt proportion."
For more background on this topic visit:
http://plimoth.org/kids/homeworkHelp/thanksgiving.php
and
http://plimoth.org/features/exhibits/thanksgiving_mmm.php
Actually my fellow Canadians and I celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving way back on October 12, but to all my American readers: "Happy Thanksgiving!" Incidentally, if you're wondering why Canada celebrates Thanksgiving nearly two months earlier than the U.S., the Encarta encyclopedia explains that: "Because Canada is north of the United States, its harvest comes earlier in the year. Accordingly, the Thanksgiving holiday falls earlier in Canada than in the United States. The Canadian Parliament set aside November 6 for annual Thanksgiving observances in 1879. In 1957 the date was shifted to an even earlier day, to the second Monday in October."
If you're a veggie, you may got a kick out of happening across this website, Vegetarian Thanksgiving, 2000, which has a complete menu for a totally vegan Thanksgiving dinner. Looks good, but I think something is missing without that turkey!
Enjoy, and try not to overeat, whether it's turkey or tofu!
Charles W. Moore
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