As Thanksgiving rolls around, I wanted to learn why we actually celebrated Thanksgiving. I knew that it had to do with pilgrims and being thankful for all you have, but I decided to research and figured out, in depth why we get a whole two days off for this American holiday. In other words: why is it so important? I’m going to give you a short history lesson on the first Thanksgiving.
It all started in 1620, when the people of England came to America to find religious and economical freedom. They were called pilgrims. The pilgrims settles in Rhode Island, near the Plymouth area. They were soon faced with hardship. Not knowing the weather and living conditions in this area, they were faced with famine and problems. Many pilgrims died their first year of living here. The seeds they brought from England didn’t work in our climate and they were never taught to hunt or fish. To their gratefulness, Squanto, an English speaking Native American from the tribe “Wampanoag” came to the rescue. He decided to help the pilgrims. He and his tribe taught them herbal medicine, how to hunt, how to build wigwams, how to plant vegetables, and even how to use fish as fertilizer. By fall the pilgrims were thriving, thanks to the Wampanoag. The day, or days of Thanksgiving took place sometime between September 21st and November 11th in 1621. While the pilgrims were preparing to celebrate their harvest with an autumn feast, the chief of the Wampanoag tribe, Massasoit, his wife, and 90 of his men came by to check on the pilgrims. Captain Miles Standish invited Massasoit and his people to join them for the feast. They weren’t expecting 90 men, so Standish sent hunters out to go gather more food. They came back with geese, fish, lobster, deer- and you guessed it, a bunch of wild turkey. They also had squash, berries, cornbread, beans, corn soup, and bread. This was a symbolic event; the joining of two completely different groups of people coming together to share one lavish meal. It also represented how thankful the pilgrims were for the Native Americans, and how thankful they were for the food and new world. The meal lasted three whole days! The Wampanoag and pilgrims created peace and friendship, and also made the agreement to let the pilgrims establish Plymouth. Sadly, this friendship didn’t last very long. As more people from England came here, they didn’t trust the Native Americans, and they were soon forced to leave their land. Still, the memory of peace and thankfulness lives on every Thanksgiving.
This Thanksgiving I’ll definitely be more thankful for all I have, and will always remember the beginnings of Thanksgiving. There’s so much to be grateful for, and so many reasons to create peace. Keeping these two things in mind, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving and keep the origin of this symbolic day close to you!
Sneha Kandalgaonkar