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Painter J. L. M. Ferris's interpretation of the first
Image credit: Corbis
Thanksgiving: It didn't happen exactly this way. |
You know the story. Just about everyone knows the story.
The Pilgrims had had a terrible winter. But their Native American friends helped them grow crops, and the Pilgrims had a good harvest. Then the settlers threw a grand feast and invited the natives. Sitting at tables filled with turkeys, the two peoples celebrated the "First Thanksgiving." This beautiful tradition has continued ever since.
Well, says food historian Kathleen Curtin, that's not exactly how it happened.
"These settlers didn't call themselves Pilgrims ...Their thanksgiving days were celebrated in church, not at the table... . That first harvest gathering wasn't one huge feast, but multiple meals," explains Curtin. "And there is no record of a harvest feast after that, so it did not start a tradition."
Curtin should know. She's a co-author of Giving Thanks, a recent book about the holiday's history. And she's spent 20 years working at Plimoth Plantation, an outdoor history museum about the English colonists and native Wampanoag people.
The settlers had suffered that first winter in Plymouth, Massachusetts, after their arrival from England in 1620. Half of the 100 colonists died before spring. But that warm-and-fuzzy feast didn't happen the way many Americans picture it.
These meals were not elegant. "There were not enough tables and chairs or utensils; it was all pretty 'catch as catch can,'" Curtin found.
Over the years, Thanksgiving has turned into what Kathleen Curtin calls a 'sacred secular event." On this day, nearly every American—of whatever religion, rich or poor, new immigrant or longtime citizen—sits down to a turkey dinner that celebrates American freedoms.
Happy Holiday!
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The Pilgrims had had a terrible winter. But their Native American friends helped them grow crops, and the Pilgrims had a good harvest. Then the settlers threw a grand feast and invited the natives. Sitting at tables filled with turkeys, the two peoples celebrated the "First Thanksgiving." This beautiful tradition has continued ever since.
Well, says food historian Kathleen Curtin, that's not exactly how it happened.
"These settlers didn't call themselves Pilgrims ...Their thanksgiving days were celebrated in church, not at the table... . That first harvest gathering wasn't one huge feast, but multiple meals," explains Curtin. "And there is no record of a harvest feast after that, so it did not start a tradition."
Curtin should know. She's a co-author of Giving Thanks, a recent book about the holiday's history. And she's spent 20 years working at Plimoth Plantation, an outdoor history museum about the English colonists and native Wampanoag people.
The settlers had suffered that first winter in Plymouth, Massachusetts, after their arrival from England in 1620. Half of the 100 colonists died before spring. But that warm-and-fuzzy feast didn't happen the way many Americans picture it.
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Despite the myths, this harvest celebration definitely did happen. The evidence? A 1621 letter written by settler Edward Winslow to a friend in England. "Winslow wrote that when the harvest was over, the governor sent four men out to hunt for fowl [bird] for a feast," according to Curtin. "They probably brought back geese and ducks. Later on, there might have been a turkey, too."
Winslow's letter mentions the arrival of the great Native American leader, Massasoit, "with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted." The natives he refers to were the local people, the Wampanoag.
That three-day harvest party might have had tense moments. The colonists and natives had had a few skirmishes earlier in the year. "And we don't know why so many [90] native people showed up that day," Curtin says. "Perhaps they heard the sounds of gunfire from the hunters." The natives did have weapons with them; Winslow writes that they "went out and killed five deer." Afterward, they brought the deer to the colony and "bestowed [them] on our governor."
Winslow's letter mentions the arrival of the great Native American leader, Massasoit, "with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted." The natives he refers to were the local people, the Wampanoag.
These meals were not elegant. "There were not enough tables and chairs or utensils; it was all pretty 'catch as catch can,'" Curtin found.
Over the years, Thanksgiving has turned into what Kathleen Curtin calls a 'sacred secular event." On this day, nearly every American—of whatever religion, rich or poor, new immigrant or longtime citizen—sits down to a turkey dinner that celebrates American freedoms.
Happy Holiday!
Think About It!
- What is it about the story of the first Thanksgiving that might make it so appealing to so many Americans?
- Is it good to know the real story behind a 'myth'? Why or why not?
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