If there was a real first Thanksgiving celebration, it would be impossible to know the exact details. The tradition is based on the legend of an autumn or early winter 1621 harvest celebration that included the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians. The best, most thorough surviving description of that first day of thanksgiving was written by Edward Winslow in A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621:
Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.
Foods
According to Kathleen Curtin, Food Historian at Plimoth Plantation, the menu likely included the following foods: lobster, clams, wild turkey, goose, crane, swan, venison, seal, wheat flour, Indian corn, plums, grapes, walnuts, olive oil, leeks dried currants, parsnips. Some of these strike us as most unusual, especially “crane” and “swan.”
Some foods that we now consider staples for the tradition that were not on the original menu include ham, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, chicken, eggs, milk.
It does seem that the early menus were not very vegetarian-friendly.
The Spirit of Thanksgiving
Foods have never been the main reason for setting aside a day of gratitude. The Plymouth colonists had had a year-long struggle after arriving on the coast of Massachusetts in 1620. The had been aided by the Wampanoag Indian who taught them how to plant corn and wheat, and by the autumn when their harvest was bountiful, they were motivated to celebrate their good fortunate and they wanted to share it with their native benefactors.
Both the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag were very spiritually oriented people. So it is natural that they came together to celebrate. Instead of merely one day as we have now, their celebration continued for several days, and it has been reported more than ninety Wampanoag arrived with relatives.
This legendary first Thanksgiving did not happen the follow year.
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Books by Linda Sue Grimes:
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Singing in the Silence: Poems of Faith
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Jiggery Jee's Eden Valley Stories
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