One of the only recorded writings about the first Thanksgiving comes from Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow who wrote:
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 fruits of our labors… many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted… 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.
Pilgrim Governor William Bradford organized an extraordinary feast to celebrate the first successful corn harvest in November 1621. This significantly successful harvest was due to the help and harvest teachings from a member of the Native American Pawtuxet tribe, Squanto.
Prior to the help from Squanto, the Pilgrims were weak and malnourished from their low food supply after surviving 66 days aboard the Mayflower and their first brutal winter in the new land. Most of the colonists suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease leaving only half to survive.
Becoming their teaching and guide, Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. Moreover, Squanto help forge a relationship between the Wampanoag tribe and the Pilgrims, a relationship that would ultimately endure for more than 50 years.
After several long hardworking months of settling and building at Plymouth, the Pilgrims finally had their first successful corn harvest in November 1621. The Pilgrims and their teachers- the Native American tribes celebrated, entertained and feasted for three days at what became American’s “first Thanksgiving,” according to History.com.
Chronicler Edward Winslow recalled the first Thanksgiving as a display of the “goodness of God” and the Pilgrims being “so far from want” and even wishing that others could partake in their plenty. There lies the Thanksgiving Day tradition that has been taught in every school in North America and embodied around every Thanksgiving table since 1863 when Abraham Lincoln formally established Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
The essence of inviting and surrounding yourself with the people you are thankful to have in your life; enjoying ones company with the notion of celebrating another year coming to an end, looking back on the past year and being thankful for the bounty, the plenty and “goodness of God” that we do have- this is the tradition of Thanksgiving, one that we have continued to follow just as the Pilgrims rejoiced with the Native American tribes almost 400 years ago.
As this year may not have been the easiest to embark and as remarkably as it has changed our way of life, there is still so much to be thankful for. Although this year may not have been as fortunate, reach out to friends and family this Thanksgiving- laugh, enjoy and celebrate the goodness in life and be thankful for the plenty that which we do have.
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