Thanksgiving: Leave Your Assumptions Behind
By: Christian Dejeu,
Staff Writer
Popular imagination shapes Thanksgiving’s history and meaning. Thanksgiving is a cherished, warm, American holiday and takes an impactful role in teaching American history and behavior. However, leave your assumptions behind, for what most believe and practice is a mythologized 1621 harvest celebration and while based on an actual event the feast, gathering, and purpose have been distorted in our familiar modern form.
First, the “traditional” Thanksgiving feast includes turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, potatoes, and pumpkin pie or sweet potato pie if you’re from the South. However, this feast resembles little to the feast of the “First Thanksgiving”- a three-day 1621 harvest celebration at the Plymouth Colony. Considering the starring role of the turkey, it is a fact that the Wampanoag natives and Plymouth colonists often ate wild turkey, and they did occasionally stuff birds and fish with herbs, onions or oats; however, the historical writings only mention large amounts of “fowl” that most reasonably referred to the abundant seasonal waterfowl of duck and geese at this feast. And the cranberry sauce does not make its appearance for another 50 years when the English start to boil the berries with sugar for eating with meats, though, the actual tart cranberry did often appear in the Wampanoag dishes. Specifically, regarding sugar’s role in any part of the “First Thanksgiving,” recognize that in 1621 sugar was very expensive and in Plymouth it is highly unlikely that any of this valuable imported spice existed at all. Then there is the mighty potato, which interestingly originated in South America and had not yet made its appearance in the diet at this time and in this place; however, it is known that the Wampanoag natives did eat other varieties of tubers. Whereas, the sweet potato came from the Caribbean, it was cultivated in Spain, imported into England and was a rather pretentious, rare delicacy of the wealthy, who are said to believe it to be a potent aphrodisiac. It doesn’t appear that the sweet potato was a part of the “First Thanksgiving” feast. As for the “As American as Pumpkin Pie,” in actuality, pumpkin and squash are both native to the Plymouth area and were served as a side dish, but not as a pie. The Wampanoag natives and Plymouth colonist did not possess the ingredients, namely butter and wheat flour, nor did they possess an oven for baking food to make piecrust. In sum, historical facts conclude that the “First Thanksgiving” feast consisted of seasonal wild fowl, venison, corn, dried and fresh area vegetables and herbs---parsnips, collards, carrots, parsley, turnips, spinach, cabbages, beans, sage, thyme, marjoram, onions, wild blueberries, native cranberries, pumpkins, grapes and nuts.
So what really happened in 1621 at the “First Thanksgiving?” The Wampanoag natives and English colonists came together for at least three days of feasting, military exercises and diplomacy. This we know from a letter that describes the colonists celebrating their first harvest with at least ninety Wampanoag natives. Note that this was a “harvest celebration” and not a “thanksgiving”. The harvest celebration was a cerebration with deep ancient roots to give thanks for successful harvests and other good fortune. Moreover, the American custom of giving thanks did not begin with the arrival of European colonists. Rather, the giving thanks for the Creator’s gifts is an integral part of daily life for the native people of this American land and the spirituality was and still is deeply sacred and personal part of the Wampanoag native’s life.
Accordingly, the purpose of the “First Thanksgiving” was celebrating harvest, recognizing blessings, and gathering meaningfully with the community. Over the next century, the autumn harvest celebration and giving of thanks embedded itself into the New England area as a holiday centered on the family and a bountiful table. Eventually, it earned its distinction as a National Holiday, an official Federal holiday in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln. However, in actuality, prior to the mid-1800s, “Thanksgiving” had nothing to do with the Pilgrims, Native people, or the 1621 harvest celebration, the proclaimed “First Thanksgiving.” The association was made from and to the traditional New England holiday that celebrated family and community and originated from Puritan days of fasting and festive rejoicing where the governor of each colony declared a day of thanksgiving of blessings annually.
Overall, Thanksgiving, our great American holiday and its myth, lives on as a prominent part of our annual traditions and culture in America. Thanksgiving provides us a splendid shared feast celebration, as well as, a shared sense of where we have come from as a nation. Although largely mythological, it provides a descendent type historic and romantic story of our nation’s origin within an annual feast. It connects the first New England roots and Victorian nostalgia of hearth and home, family and community to a value over present time and change. No matter what your beliefs and practices, leave your assumptions behind, and be aware of the significance of Thanksgiving- a celebration of giving thanks for all people.
Image cred: Bing.com