Thanksgiving: What you think you know, but really don't.

In the Fall of 1621 a bunch of stuffy pilgrims gathered with a bunch of Native Americans in New England and threw the first Thanksgiving feast. Afterwards the pilgrims and indians set up teams and played football. The pilgrims won by a touchdown and (as agreed before the game) received a turkey from John Madden and all of the land the Native Americans lived on. Since that day, we have celebrated Thanksgiving in a similar manner. Or, that is what everyone thinks about the first Thanksgiving. Suprisingly, there are many misconceptions about this holiday.

1. THE PILGRIMS CALLED IT THANKSGIVING
The Pilgrims did not. The entire festival lasted around three days. It was carried over from Europe as a Fall festival. Thanksgiving was a religious day which involved a lot of praying and very little eating (usually observed after a momentous occasion). What we call Thanksgiving was simply a secular celebration of the harvest to the pilgrims. The puritans calling their celebration a Thanksgiving celebration would be like us calling New Year's Eve a day of rememberance (such as when we won World War II). I am sure the first Thanksgiving didn't have floats or Santa or Black Friday or Dick Clark. Or, maybe it did.














"I should know about the first Thanksgiving. I was there!"

2. WE HAVE CELEBRATED THANKSGIVING EVER SICE THE FIRST ONE IN 1621

Not as such..., no. As mentioned before, the Pilgrims were celebrating a harvest festival that was carried over from Europe. The meaning behind our version did not come around until the Revolutionary War, but it was not widely recognized as a holiday. President Lincoln designated the final Thursday of November as a day of giving thanks in 1863. However, that was more due to the ongoing war between the North and South. The nation, as a whole, did not have an actual Thanksgiving holiday until 1941, when Congress approved the fourth Thursday in November as being designated "Thanksgiving Day". We can all assume that football, turkey, and dozing on the couch were part of the deal.






























"The good Congressman of Ohio has proposed "the cranberry sauce without the little pieces of cranberry in it" to be manditory at all Thanksgiving meals. All in favor, say "Aye"."

3. THE PILGRIMS ATE TURKEY
Maybe they did. No one is exactly sure what was on the menu, since there was no printed menu. I like to think that someone brought a green bean casserole and no one touched it. There are two things for certain that were eaten. Those were wild game bird and deer. Turkey on Thanksgiving didn't become traditional until the mid-to-late 19th century.


















"Oh, crap! Is it Thanksgiving again? Gotta run!"

4. THANKSGIVING WAS MEANT AS A DAY FOR FAMILIES TO GATHER

Not really. Thanksgiving was more of a day for for Americans to gather as a nation. The Pilgrims celebrated with their Native American neighbors. Yet that fact often gets forgotten. As America welcomed imigrants from all over the world, a need arose for us to feel as if we belonged to a great union. Hence we all celebrate Thanksgiving, and are thankful we live in the U.S.A., and have the opportunities given to us.

"Yeah, stereotypical Native American. Behold my 'boomstick'!"