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Jay O'Dell: Story of first Thanksgiving a common misconception
Most people think of Thanksgiving being only a traditional American holiday and having first originated with the Pilgrims in 1621 within the Massachusetts Colony. Both of these beliefs are misconceptions as neither is factual.
Early Thanksgiving celebrations
The first Thanksgiving ceremony was held Sept. 8, 1565, in what is now St. 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 1697. The group's charter for a colony required a yearly "day of thanksgiving" to God. The service of Thanksgiving was therefore held in the colony during 1619 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 crop harvest and being in America where they had religious freedom.
Harvested crops and native animals which they hunted, including turkey, became the food for a three-day celebration in November 1621. The Indians supplied the majority of food, including deer, many turkeys, fish, beans, squash, corn soup, corn bead and wild berries.
Many people have the misconception that this was the first American Thanksgiving. History books used in public schools mention the event, which conveys the impression of it being the first Thanksgiving.
As mentioned herein it was actually the fourth known American Thanksgiving celebration, two were held by the Spanish in the late 1500s (Florida and Texas) and one by the English settlers in Virginia during the early 1600s and later by the Pilgrims in 1621.
Origin of 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 Chesapeake Bay area. Turkey as the main course for Thanksgiving is derived from the 1621 affair held by the Pilgrims.
Nature of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving originated as a crop harvest and/or religious related festival. It also celebrated family togetherness and communal harmony. Although Thanksgiving originated in America, a number of other countries celebrate harvest related festivals. They are characterized by fun and merrymaking, each region having their own customs.
India, China and other Southeast Asian countries have various affairs and celebrations as a means of giving thanks.
Establishment of 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. It later became a day to be marked by plentiful food and drink as it is today.
In 1863, 74 years later, 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 still remains today. Beginning in the 1970s, the Friday after Thanksgiving day became a signal to the start of Christmas shopping. It became known as Black Friday to denote business generated and profits made by merchants and sales establishments. The start of Christmas shopping on the day following Thanksgiving is used as a measure of the national U.S. economy.
Jay O'Dell is a former teacher of history and other subjects in public schools and college.
