Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy your big feast today!
Speaking of which, here is some Thanksgiving Trivia.
Thanksgiving was celebrated irregularly for as long as America had a President, but it was officialy set in stone by President Lincoln in 1863, in the midst of a Civil War, making this holiday the first to be nationally declared.
Much of the modern festivities replicated the Pilgrims' Mayflower landing at Plymouth Rock in eastern Massachusetts in 1621, and the Wampanoags' assisting them in establishing their colony (Squanto was not part of this tribe, but of the Patuxet). The feast held in commemoration of their cooperation, to which the colony owed its success, is widely recognized as the first Thanksgiving.
However, a little over a year earlier in late September or early October in 1619, a similar feast was held at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County, Virginia. The participants are the 38 passengers of the colonial ship Margaret. Other thanksgiving feasts go back even further; back in England, Puritans observed occasional days of humility in 1588 in response to plague outbreaks and the Armada Crisis. Colonists from Spain and France also held thanksgiving feasts to celebrate a bountiful harvest and their cooperation with local First Nations tribes. The earliest known thanksgiving feast was held in St. Augustine, Fla., upon its 1565 settlement.
* On the menu at Plymouth Rock was venison (gifted from Massasoit, leader of the Wampanoags), eel, fish, shellfish, and a corn-based hasty pudding with various meats and vegetables mixed in. Wild turkey was present, but not as the main attraction. Potatoes and apples had not been introduced to the Colombian system yet and the Pilgrims did not bring butter, wheat flour or sugar for pumpkin pie. They did, however, serve a stew with pumpkins as an important ingredient.
* The mostly-black Pilgrim costume with big buckles? A lie. The Pilgrims never wore such outfits nor did the buckle hat exist as a serious piece of apparel. Buckles did not come into fashion until much later in the century. While black was a fashionable color for formal occasions among wealthy Europeans in 1621, the Pilgrims wore clothing of brightly colored fabric.
* Historians don’t really know whether others on either side mingled, but their respective leaders definitely joined hands, if ever. There were 50 or 51 surviving Pilgrims following a devastating winter, and twice as many Wampanoags. There’s uncertainty about whether the Wampanoags were invited or unexpected guests. For sure, no one at the feast thought about making it an annual celebration.
* And you can forget about assuming everyone sat at a long wooden table, joined hands and gave thanks in prayer. The harvest feast was more like a country fair, with games and socializing and multiple meals served all over the village.
What other Thanksgiving Trivia do you know? What's on the menu tonight at your feast? Comment below and let us know!
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1 year, 1 month ago
23 Nov 2023 17:15 CET
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