Thanksgiving in the US and Canada is a secular holiday for giving thanks, but both religious and non-religious people observe it. The first Thanksgiving is disputed, but the modern holiday is based on the 1621 celebration in Plymouth. The menu was limited, and the festivities included dancing and singing. President George Washington declared Thanksgiving the first national day in 1789, and Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November National Thanksgiving Day in 1863. Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving Day to the fourth Thursday in November in 1939, and it has evolved into the holiday we observe today.
Thanksgiving today in the United States and Canada consists of food, family, friends, and thanksgiving for one’s blessings. Though considered a secular holiday, both religious and non-religious observe it as a day to count things to be thankful for. The modern day Thanksgiving that Americans and Canadians observe, with its traditional menu and activities, is worlds different from the early holidays and ceremonies observed by European settlers and North American explorers.
Although most North Americans agree that the first Thanksgiving took place between September 21 and November 11, 1621 at Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts, there are other earlier holidays and ceremonies that vie for the designation as the very first Thanksgiving. In Canada, the first took place in 1578, when English explorer Martin Frobisher celebrated the establishment of a colony in what is now the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
In what is now the United States, some believe that the very first Thanksgiving holiday took place on May 23, 1541 in present-day Texas. The holiday was celebrated by the explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and the Native Americans he called Tejas. The party was held to celebrate the discovery of more food supplies. Another running celebration is September 8, 1565, when Pedro Menéndez de Avilés feasted with Native Americans in what is now Florida. In Texas, on April 30, 1598, don Juan de Oñate celebrated with the Manso Indians. No matter where or when it actually happened, it seems clear that the story of Thanksgiving in North America is uniquely tied to the generosity of the continent’s First Nations to those who had recently arrived.
While there were earlier holidays held by Europeans in North America, it is widely accepted that North Americans base their modern Thanksgiving on the 1621 holiday in Plymouth. The festival, which lasted for three days, was held to celebrate the autumn harvest. The pilgrims broke bread with the Wampanoag Indians, who contributed five deer to the feast. The best and most detailed account of the event is by Edward Winslow in his A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. It is through reports like this that the facts have been gathered.
The menu of that first Thanksgiving was very different from that of a modern holiday. Only venison and venison are known to have been served, along with a limited selection of vegetables. The vegetables available at the time were probably limited to pumpkins, beans, onions, peas and carrots. There were no sweets, cakes or pies, as the Pilgrim’s supply of sugar was extremely low. The dishes were most likely flavored with salt and a few spices, such as nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger, as well as wild herbs and dried fruit.
The meat, which was probably limited to the local population of deer and native wild birds, such as wild turkey, duck, and goose, was spit-roasted for several hours. Meals were prepared using limited resources and served family style at large tables. Important people and guests were generally served the best food. The festivities included dancing and singing, and the event would not have been a primarily religious observance due to the frivolity associated with the holiday.
Thanksgiving was not repeated the following year, but pilgrims established a more religious tradition of praying and giving thanks after a successful harvest. The Continental Congress proposed an annual day of thanksgiving during the American Revolution. In 1789, President George Washington declared Thanksgiving the first national day. It wasn’t until 1817 that the state of New York instituted an annual holiday, which other states soon followed with their own.
President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November National Thanksgiving Day in 1863, at the height of the Civil War. It was his proclamation that has since inspired every American president to issue his own proclamation. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving Day to the fourth Thursday in November, and Congress ratified the decision in 1941. Since then, it has evolved into the holiday we observe today. When the assembled parties first observed the holiday nearly four centuries ago, they would not have been able to conceive of the packaged frozen turkeys, football games, parades and shopping that have become traditional favorite mainstays of many of those looking modern holiday.
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