Essay on History of Thanksgiving

Squanto and Chief Massasoit extended their friendship to the Pilgrims. They showed them how to catch fish with nets and how to grow corn, pumpkins, potatoes and squash - foods from the New World. The Indians showed the Pilgrims where to hunt turkey and deer, and where to gather nuts and berries. They explained to the Pilgrims that the land was master of those who walked and lived there.

Since 1863, each year the President of the United States has offered a similar proclamation, encouraging the citizens of this great nation to be thankful to Almighty God who has so blessed our nation. It was in 1863 that Thanksgiving was first recognized as an official holiday that was scheduled for the fourth Thursday of November each year. Thanksgiving is a joyous time, it is a time when many folks gather with friends and loved ones and remember the many blessings of a past year.

According to the Library of Congress "the first recorded celebration of Columbus Day in the United States took place on October 12, 1792," for the 300th anniversary of his arriving to America. At the 400th anniversary it was recommended by President Harrison that the United States observe the day as a holiday. Then the

In an article by Pleck (2011) it was claimed that the pilgrims did not have ruffled shirts, buckled shoes nor did they consume on turkey at the harvest feast that occurred in 1621. This may come as a shock to most because growing up we were taught to believe these along with other “facts” about the harvest feast that we come to know as the first thanksgiving. The pilgrims lost many of their people in the winter of 1620 due to lack of foraging knowledge. This led the colony to form a relationship with the Wampanoag tribe. They taught them how to fish as well as gather vegetables. This is thought to be common knowledge but as previously stated this may not be completely true after all. Pleck was not the only person to uncover the truth about the harvest feast of 1621. A director named Ellis (2010) made a documentary that confirms the feast

Holidays are always celebrated no matter religion, beliefs, or culture. Some are recognized more than others but none two are as highly recognized like the cherished Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays. The pair may seem vastly different, as they are two completely separate occasions, but in actuality they do share very similar attributes. Many of the similarities and differences are about to be explained, so here goes.

The pilgrims were a very interesting group of people, simply for their faith being so strong even through terrible times. “They fell upon their knees and blessed God of heaven…” (Bradford) This shows that the faith of the pilgrims was unbelievably strong and although they were hungry and cold, they were thankful that

It is mind boggling to know that despite the quest for knowledge and learning the truth behind our history, yet a vast number of people still celebrate thanksgiving. What are we really thankful for?

William Bradford’s “Of Plymouth Plantation” opened my eyes about Plymouth and Thanksgiving. First of all, there was a part in Bradford’s background that caught my eye: Thanksgiving. I am sure that many of us at some point visualized Thanksgiving as a large feast. However, I found it shocking that his narrative does not emphasize a feast, but rather a document of what it was like in Plymouth and the interactions with the Native Americans. Either way, I still found it interesting how Thanksgiving came to be. It would be nice to read another person’s viewpoint of Thanksgiving and to see if there really was a feast or not.

Most people have the custom of buying a turkey for thanksgiving. “46 million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving” (Turkey for the Holidays). Traditionally, people eat an abundance of food resembling the pilgrims and how they had a feast based on their religion. Furthermore, there are many different varieties of food such as: turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, and dinner rolls. For dessert there is pumpkin, apple, and pecan pie. Most of the time the food is extraordinary people just want more. They might even take some and have it again later on. Thanksgiving is a feast we are blessed to

When I imagine “The First Thanksgiving”, I think of peace and harmony. Then my History complex comes in, I remember all of the rape, cannibalism, and disease spreading that happened in the years before “The First Thanksgiving” ruin my picture perfect scene. The Pilgrims did not have a farming aspect when they came to The New Colony but with the help of the Native Americans they learned how to survive. When I was younger we always were taught that this time, in history, everyone got along and they were happy. The Pilgrims came to have religious freedom and not to be treated as second class citizens. This is a notable act but they had various pathogens that they were immuned to but the Natives were not. Historians say that the pathogens that

Columbus Day marks the point in time which Christopher Columbus came to the “New World” in his quest of finding a shorter route to the Indies. On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus accidentally made history by being the first known European explorer to set foot in North America. Columbus paved the path of formation for our nation, and we should commemorate this achievement with a school vacation day. Christopher Columbus was a very brave man and was never afraid to go into uncharted territory. “During his lifetime, Columbus led a total of four expeditions to the New World, discovering various Caribbean islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and the South and Central American mainlands” ("Columbus Reaches the New World"). By accomplishing this, Columbus

The truth of the matter is, when the Pilgrims arrived, they found an abandoned Wampanoag village and moved right in. In 1618, a massive epidemic of an unknown disease left by English explorers swept across Wampanoag country and decimated many of the villages. This epidemic caused the death of ten to thirty percent of the total population and all but a few of the 2,000 people of the village of Patuxet. When the Pilgrims arrived in 1620, they landed at Patuxet with no idea of what had occurred. At this point, there were only about 2,000 members left in the Wampanoag tribe, down from 12,000 in 1600. Despite the incredible losses to his people, Wampanoag leader Massasoit and 90 of his men sat down for a harvest celebration offered by the white men. For three days the Wampanoag and Pilgrims feasted on deer, wild turkey, fish, beans, squash, corn and other foods native to North America. Although the celebration was good-natured, this event truly signifies the beginning of a drastic decline of native culture and Thanksgiving would be more fittingly observed as a day of mourning rather than a celebration. In the years that followed, skirmishes occurred and more Native Americans were killed. In 1637, English soldiers massacred 700 Pequot men, women and children as an example of the English way of war, yet we still celebrate Thanksgiving as a joyful event. So, as we sit down for our Thanksgiving dinner,

Every year on October 12th Americans across the country celebrate Columbus day. A day honoring the famous (or infamous) explorer Christopher Columbus , famous for supposedly discovering America (The Bahamas today). Until recently most people have celebrated the day without a second thought, but now there is more evidence that Christopher Columbus wasn’t just a peaceful explorer.

As long as I can remember my family has always had food on the table and a family gathering on the fourth November in our home. We have all heard elementary stories of wood cabins and the Pilgrims and Indians celebrating thanksgiving. Though, I never knew the reason they were celebrating. Today as Thanksgiving is closely approaching, I am going to talk to you about the history of Thanksgiving, its traditions, and how our era and personal preferences influence the traditions in our celebrations.

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate our joys with friends and family. Unfortunately, if you are the person designated to cooking the holiday dinner, the joys can turn into complete and total fear. I'll never forget the first time I made Thanksgiving dinner for twenty family members and friends. I waited until the last minute to start and the dinner ended in a complete disaster. In the years following that failure, I have learned that preparing a Thanksgiving dinner is easy...if you plan ahead.