Thanksgiving

They didn’t call it Thanksgiving yet, but when fall came and the harvest (corn, squash, beans, barley, and peas) was brought in, the men went hunting. They brought back lots of ducks and geese, and governor William Bradford called for a celebration.

From Mayflower:

“…the first Thanksgiving soon became an overwhelmingly Native celebration when Massasoit and a hundred Pokanokets … arrived at the settlement with five freshly killed deer.”

There were also wild turkeys. And beer. But no pumpkin pies or cranberry sauce.

From William Bradford’s eyewitness account, Of Plymouth Plantation:

“They began now to gather in the small harvest they had… and had all things in good plenty. Cod and bass and other fish… of which every family had their portion.”

And they were thankful.

4 Responses to Thanksgiving

  1. BruceS November 27, 2008 at 2:17 pm #

    For all their thankfulness, none of them had it anywhere near as good as nearly everyone in this country have it now. I’m thankful to be here, now.
    Happy Thanksgiving

  2. weeklyrob November 27, 2008 at 8:22 pm #

    Sure. I too am thankful that I don’t live in the 1600s!

  3. BruceS November 28, 2008 at 11:04 am #

    I’m also thankful that I live in the U.S., not in some filthy third-world backwater (insert France joke here), or under an oppressive government. Of course, I’d be OK with other countries, like Canada, Ireland, Australia, U.K., Germany, etc.
    So does being thankful imply having someone to thank?

  4. Kevin November 28, 2008 at 2:38 pm #

    Thanks, Rob.

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