Did it Happen: the First Thanksgiving

The picture is a familiar one to most Americans, prim Pilgrims in black and white outfits serving turkey dinner to Natives (in war bonnets), consisting of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie.

NOT! 

First, a word about terminology.  To the Pilgrims, as indeed to many people up until Thanksgiving became a national holiday during the Civil War (1861-1865), a day of thanksgiving had little to do with feasting and merry-making and everything to do with solemn church services, fasting, cessation of most work or other activity and the like.  What the Pilgrims were celebrating was a harvest feast.  Incidentally, a harvest feast is often celebrated in the UK and other commonwealth countries such as Canada in October.  And, contrary to popular belief, during such feasts the Pilgrims did allow for some merry-making including dressing in colors, games and some limited music.  They held such a feast in autumn of 1621, though the exact date isn't known.

There are two accounts of this first harvest feast in America, William Bradford's official account of the colony Of Plymouth Plantation, and William Brewster's Mourt's Relation, and both are as skimpy on details as tight-lipped Pilgrims can be, meaning that they probably didn't consider the occasion as big a deal as it later became in American iconography.  Bradford says that they had caught a lot of wild turkeys during the season and that the harvest was good, thanks to Squanto's teaching of them to plant local foodstuffs.  While the Native way of hunting depended on stealth, and killing only those animals needed to survive, the English had a proper shooting party, which meant quantity as well as quality.  When scouts of the local Wampanoag tribe brought back word to Massassoit of a lot of men in the woods firing guns he logically assumed this was the start of a war party and sent Squanto to ask what was going on.  Not quite trusting Squanto when he brought back word that the Pilgrims were just hunting, Massassoit took about 90 warriors and came to Plimouth to see for himself.  He was just in time for the feast, and he and his men were invited to sit down and dig in.  The Wampanoag didn't wear war bonnets.  Come as you are attire for them would've been breech clothes, leggings, moccasins, and personal adornment as desired or rank demanded.  The feasting lasted for several days. 

Now, the menu.  Turkeys could've been there, either roasted on spits or prepared in a stew more known to us as a fricassee to flavor and moisten the meat.  Other game meats were on hand, including venison.  So were shell fish such as mussels and clams, as well as eels (eeeww!!).  Wild cranberries in dried form would've been there, but not as a sauce (or more properly a relish).  Pumpkins would've been served in a custard form or baked like other squash.  Potatoes and yams were non-existent, and would be introduced to North American years later.  The Colonists had not begun cultivating wheat, had no dairy animals and no way to make crusts for pies, let alone rolls.  And, of course, squash, beans and corn (maize) would've been available, but green beans, macaroni salad or bacon-wrapped anything, nada. 

The Pilgrims would not have the resources to have such a sumptuous feast again until 1623.  Squanto had died and without him to keep everyone on track the harvest was poor, and food preservation even worse.  From time to time in the ensuing decades and centuries, New England communities kept this tradition of a harvest-feast, as they did many English customs (hence the regional name, New England).  They also kept the more solemn traditions of Thanksgiving being a day of prayer, fasting and reflection.  It wasn't until Abraham Lincoln's Administration that the two streams crossed, Thanksgiving being both a day of solemn prayer as well as feasting.  Today the feasting remains, and some solemn prayer and reflection (depending on if your team is playing and how they're doing this season).