Thanksgiving's Cherished American Roots!

 The First Thanksgiving

"In the Fall of 1621, the Pilgrims famously shared a harvest feast with the Pokanokets; the meal is now considered the basis for the Thanksgiving holiday. It took place over three days between late September and mid-November and included feasting as well as games and military exercises.

Most of the attendees at the first Thanksgiving were men; 78 percent of the women who traveled on the Mayflower perished over the preceding winter. Of the 50 colonists who celebrated the harvest (and their survival), 22 were men, four were married women and 25 were children and teenagers.

The Pilgrims were outnumbered more than two to one by Native Americans, according to Edward Winslow, a participant who attended with his wife and recorded what he saw in a letter, writing: “many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men.”

Winslow records eating venison from five deer killed by the Native Americans along with chestnuts, cranberries, garlic and artichokes—all native wild plants the English were learning to use. Turkey was potentially served as well. By the late 1600s, Thanksgiving had become an annual fall tradition. It wasn’t until 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln named the last Thursday in November a national holiday."

H/T: History.com Editors