THE HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING DAY

The First American Thanksgiving is attributed to the autumnal feast held by the Pilgrims and Massasoit in 1621.

The Mayflower passengers, having survived a rather challenging winter in the "New World" and having managed to harvest their surviving crops, hosted a feast which was an English tradition that signaled the end of harvest time.

The Massasoit's religion demanded that they help those who came with empty hands. The recently landed newcomers had been in such need during their first year in the territory.

Additionally, the Massasoit were members of the widespread confederacy of Algonkian-speaking people known as the League of Delaware. They were also the most important and influential sachem of the Wampanoag.

It was because of the Massasoit's generosity and in hopes to negotiate a land deal that they were invited to the harvest celebration with the Separatists.

The most noteworthy and historically familiar member of the Native party was Squanto, who was the only non-Separatist who had been formally educated and baptized a Christian.

The date of the feast is unknown. However, it must have occurred previously to December as that is the month that one of the only written accounts first is documented.

There are only two known written eyewitness reports of the event; that of Edward Winslow and William Bradford who described the details of the fishing and hunting expeditions and the fact that the festivities lasted three days.


The Massasoit, ninety individuals in totem, provided five deer for the feast. Among some of the other edible items were duck, geese, turkey, fish, and corn.

It is unlikely that the dishes presented were extravagant because the colonists weren't aware when the next ship docking would take place and would have conserved whatever spices they had.

There are many myths surrounding the modern day celebration of Thanksgiving.

Although Thanksgiving as a holiday can be traced to the harvest celebration of 1621, it was neither a feast held annually or meant as a celebration of giving thanks. Just two years later, in 1623, there is no mention of a Thanksgiving feast.


The Pilgrims were primarily a Separatist group who arrived in Massachusetts the previous year. Their visual use in Thanksgiving decorations is often misconstrued.

The familiar black and white garb with the large buckles that we see today is incorrect. The appearance is related to Puritans who arrived in the Americas later and who only used the black and white garb occasionally. Buckles weren't in production until the late 1600's as well.

When a member of the Mayflower party would die, an inventory of their belongings would be assessed. Most inventories revealed a tendency for darker colors, but many people had a wide range of color in their clothing collections.

The Pilgrims weren't the only ones misrepresented in latter day artwork and stories. The Massasoit are typically depicted in costumes that are more closely related to Plains tribes. To read more from the Native American perspective of Thanksgiving-Click Here.
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The first national Thanksgiving was declared in 1777 by the Continental Congress. It wasn't yet an observed holiday and several other "Thanksgiving" days were proclaimed inconsistently until 1815.

Thanksgiving reverted to being a regional event until 1863 when two days were declared. The first being August 6th after the victory at Gettysburg and the second being the  last-Thursday-in-November celebration.

Abraham Lincoln was the first American President to proclaim Thanksgiving a nationally observed holiday as the insistence of a long-time advocate, Sarah Hale.

However, in 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt believed the holiday to fall too close to Christmas and made a motion for it to be celebrated on the third Thursday in November. Not every State complied.

 In 1941, a joint resolution of Congress chose the fourth Thursday in November, which is not always the last Thursday in the month.


Today, Thanksgiving isn't considered Thanksgiving unless there is a bountiful feast of turkey and all the trimmings, images of Pilgrims and Native Americans, or the ever popular pumpkin.

Through the years, it's become a religiously affiliated holiday and trips to local churches as well as providing a banquet for the less fortunate have become seasonal traditions.

Written by Christina Wilson

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