Most people think of Thanksgiving being only a traditional American holiday and having first originated with the Pilgrims in 1621 within the Massachusetts Colony. But Thanksgivings were held even earlier in other parts of what became the United States.

The first Thanksgiving ceremony was held on Sept. 8, 1565, in what is now Saint Augustine, Fla. Six hundred Spanish settlers landed at what would later become the city. They immediately held a Mass of Thanksgiving for their safe delivery to the New World, followed by a feast and celebration.

The Florida Spanish colony later became part of the United States, so this 1565 Spanish gathering can be classified as the first American Thanksgiving celebration. Early Spanish settlers also held a second Thanksgiving ceremony in the city of El Paso, Texas, on April 30, 1598, during early settlement.

In December 1619, a group of 38 English settlers arrived on the James River in Virginia near where the first permanent English colony in America (Jamestown) had been started in 1607. The group's charter for a colony required a yearly "day of thanksgiving" to God. The service of Thanksgiving was, therefore, held during 1619 in the colony, which was known as Berkeley Plantation.

The Pilgrims from England crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1620 and settled in Massachusetts. The following year in 1621, they had a gathering of themselves and local Indians. A total of 90 were present to celebrate the crop harvest and being in America where they had religious freedom.

Harvested crops and native animals, including turkey, became the food for a three-day celebration in November 1621. The Indians supplied the majority of food, including deer, turkeys, fish, beans, squash, corn soup, corn bread and wild berries.

History books often give the impression of that being the first Thanksgiving, but as mentioned herein, it was actually the fourth known American Thanksgiving celebration.

Turkey for Thanksgiving

Goose became a favorite bird at harvest time in England. When the Pilgrims arrived in America, they replaced roasted goose with roasted turkey as the main course. The wild turkey was a native bird, easier to find and very plentiful. Goose is still the main Thanksgiving course in parts of the U.S. today, such as the Maryland and Virginia regions of the Chesapeake Bay area. Turkey as the main course for Thanksgiving is derived from the 1621 affair held by the Pilgrims.

Thanksgiving date

George Washington, the first U.S. President, proclaimed the first date for Thanksgiving in 1789 to be Nov. 26 as a day of Thanksgiving and prayer.

In 1863, 74 years later, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the fourth Tuesday of November as being the national holiday. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s moved the holiday to the third Thursday in November to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the Depression era economy. After a storm of public protest against the date, Roosevelt changed the holiday again in 1941 to the fourth Thursday in November, where it remains today.

Jay O'Dell is a former teacher of history and other subjects in public schools and college. Suggestions for column content or other inquiries can be sent to him at: P.O. Box 469, Lavalette, WV 25535.

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