Thanksgiving - A Little History

The Pilgrims, Calvinist settlers in New England, held the first Thanksgiving Day in 1621. Many of these settlers did not celebrate Christmas or Easter, having abandoned feasts celebrated by Catholics. They preferred to base their laws and customs on Scripture. After landing in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims experienced a tragic, severe winter during which half the settlers died. In the spring, the native Americans of the Wampanoag Tribe taught them how to plant crops, hunt and fish. This effort produced a bountiful harvest. Since the Scriptures enjoined people to share their bounty with family, servants, strangers, and widows, the Pilgrims invited their Native American saviors to join them for a harvest feast which extended over three days. Thanksgiving Day finds its roots in this festival. However, the traditional turkey we associate with the day was mostly likely not served. It is believed that the pilgrims and native Americans feasted on venison, goose, corn, cod fish, and lobster.

Thanksgiving did not become an annual and national holiday until much later. In 1789 President Washington proclaimed a “Day of Thanksgiving” for the birth of the new nation. A number of states observed Days of Thanksgiving in the years that followed but their dates and observances varied. A nationwide holiday was finally adopted in 1863 thanks to President Lincoln, who established the fourth Thursday of November as “Thanksgiving Day.”

Recently, some Florida historians have asserted that the idea of Thanksgiving Day has roots that are older and Catholic. In 1565, the Spaniards landed in Florida where a cross was planted in the ground. As curious members of the indigenous Timucua tribe looked on, the 800 newly arrived colonists gathered around a makeshift altar as their chaplain celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving for their safe arrival in the newly christened settlement of St. Augustine. At the invitation of the admiral, the Timucuans then joined the newcomers in a communal meal.