The First Thanksgiving- Library Research

The First Thanksgiving Dinner

Since the holiday season is in full swing, and we just returned from a lovely Thanksgiving break, I decided to do my library research on The First Thanksgiving Dinner By Clifford Howard’s “ The Ladies’ Home Journal” (1889-1907). It is crazy to think that in the autumn of 1621, in this new mysterious land of Plymouth, the Pilgrim’s celebrated the first Thanksgiving. .  Did the Pilgrim’s know during their Thanksgiving that they were starting a tradition and creating a holiday that would be celebrated for hundreds of years?   

 The Pilgrims landed in Plymouth in December of 1620. It was a hard first winter for the brave men, women, and children who took the journey on the Mayflower. The elements were against them and many were struck with illness and starvation due to insufficient food- “within the next three months forty-six of their number- nearly one half of the entire party- perished. The undying faith of the Pilgrims is what got those who remained, through the winter, and come spring they were able to regain their strength and go on with their work and their purpose.

“ALWAYS ready to acknowledge the mercies of God the Pilgrims looked upon their life during the ensuing months as a happy and prosperous one”. The Pilgrims were grateful and thankful for surviving the harsh winter, and they were thankful that with the spring God had brought them happy and prosperous months. The Pilgrims were so thankful that the Governor “appointed a feast of Thanksgiving”. “Gunners were sent into the woods for wild turkeys, which abounded there in great numbers; kitchens were made ready for preparing the feast… while a messenger was dispatched to invite Massasoit, the chief of the friendly tribe, to attend the celebration.” I always wondered why turkey was such a tradition in a thanksgiving meal, because they were plentiful in the woods of Plymouth seems reason enough to me.   Also, The first Thanksgiving lasted not only on that Thursday in November but also the two succeeding days. At first I was a little upset that that part of the first Thanksgiving tradition didn’t carry over, but then I realized that every day is a day to give thanks which is exactly the point that the Pilgrims were trying to make (and there are always left overs). “Generations to come shall look back to this hour and these scenes of agonizing trial, this day of small things, and say: ‘Here was our beginning as a people. These were our fathers. Through their trials we inherit our blessing.’” So I guess to answer my above question, the Pilgrims did somehow know that their first Thanksgiving would be the start of a tradition that would go on for hundreds of years where people would celebrate their thanks for there is so much to be thankful for.

            My favorite part of Thanksgiving, minus the gathering of family and friends, is the tradition. For example, it is tradition in my family for my mom and I to cook special dishes from both sides of the family. Each year my mom and I cook homemade noodles in honor of my Mamaw, my dad’s mom. We also bake two pies, a peanut butter pie and a sugar cream pie, in honor of my mom’s parents. My mom and I also cook our very own dishes that have become staples in our family’s traditional Thanksgiving meal over the years. There were so many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and there are so many reasons to be thankful each day.

·      What are some of your family traditions?

·      Do you celebrate with friends or with your extended family?

Source:

http://search.proquest.com/americanperiodicals/docview/137012479/13AA5D9B9606AFA0625/1?accountid=7090