Thanksgiving: The Truth

[Sarah_W]

Thanksgiving: The Truth

Thanksgiving is next week and Americans will gather their families and friends to sit down for the annual feast. Some will hold hands and recite all they are thankful for. Some will tell the story of Pilgrims and Indians sitting down for a feast. Many will put out the standard props of Pilgrims, pumpkins, gourds, feathers, etc. They will perpetuate the myth and the lie.

The lie.

The fictional partnership of 17th Century European Pilgrims and New England Indians sharing a celebratory meal appears to be just 100 years old. And it was only after the First World War that a version of such a Puritan-Indian partnership took hold in elementary schools across the American landscape. We can thank the invention of textbooks and their mass purchase by public schools for embedding this "Thanksgiving" image in our modern minds. It was, of course, a complete invention, a cleverly created slice of cultural propaganda, just another in a long line of inspired nationalistic myths such as the Easter Bunny.

The first Thanksgiving Day did occur in the year 1637, but it was nothing like our Thanksgiving today. On that day the Massachusetts Colony Governor, John Winthrop, proclaimed such a "Thanksgiving" to celebrate the safe return of a band of heavily armed hunters, all colonial volunteers. They had just returned from their journey to what is now Mystic, Connecticut where they massacred 700 Pequot Indians. Seven hundred Indians - men, women and children - all murdered. A celebration of murder.

Did the Pilgrims share a Thanksgiving feast with the Pequot and Wampanoag Indians as they celebrated their bounty? No, that never happened. Today our national memory is corrupted by the lie of a fictional event. Let there be no mistake, even 382 years later the American Indians of this country know the truth and they remember. They remember it as a day of mourning.

Thanksgiving Day is coming. We will gather with our families and enjoy a feast. We will celebrate and we will give thanks. But let us celebrate the truth, not a lie. Tell your family and friends the real reason and purpose of Thanksgiving. Have your feast. Hold hands and recite all you are thankful for but include the truth of our national holiday.

The Truth.

What exactly is the origin of our national holiday? The fact of the matter is Thanksgiving began with George Washington and became official with Abraham Lincoln. Two presidential proclamations.

Thanksgiving Proclamation signed October 3, 1789 in New York

A proclamation by President George Washington and a congressional resolution established the first national Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1789. The reason for the holiday was to give "thanks" for the new Constitution. "...to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed..."


Thanksgiving Proclamation sighed October 3, 1863 in Washington

A proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln created Thanksgiving Day as a National holiday. Prior to this each state had their own Thanksgiving celebrations at various times. Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln urging him to make Thanksgiving a National holiday so all Americans would celebrate at the same time. Fresh from a Union victory at Gettysburg, the turning point of the Civil War, Lincoln made the proclamation creating the National holiday to occur the last Thursday of November for the nation to give thanks to Almighty God and "commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged."


Americans should celebrate the truth that 55 men gathered in 1787 in Philadelphia to design an experimental form of government - by the People and for the People; giving us the Constitution, accepted and signed by all states in 1789 then celebrated by Proclamation on November 26, 1789.

On October 3, 1789, George Washington published his proclamation designating Thursday, November 26, 1789 as the Day of Thanksgiving. Our first President, "George Washington issued a proclamation on October 3, 1789, designating Thursday, November 26 as a national day of thanks. In his proclamation, Washington declared that the necessity for such a day sprung from the Almighty’s care of Americans prior to the Revolution, assistance to them in achieving independence, and help in establishing the constitutional government."

****

Source: Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 * George Washington's Mount Vernon (https://www.mountvernon.org/education/primary-sources-2/article/thanksgiving-proclamation-of-1789/)

" By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
Go: Washington"
****
Source: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/)

Americans should celebrate that 74 years after George Washington's proclamation, when our nation was torn in half, men and women worked and fought and died to heal this nation prompting Abraham Lincoln to memorialize it as a National holiday.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She explained, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritative fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution."

The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise." According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary how he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

****
"Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward,
Secretary of State"
*****

The term "Pilgrims" didn't even exist until the 1880's. Around that time there was a popular children's book containing a fictional story of Pilgrims and Indians enjoying a feast together with the setting being the early years of settlors. This story gained in popularity, became a play, and then began to flourish in grade schools across the country. Decades went by and we as citizens just accepted the story as factual. It is not.

Okay then, what is Thanksgiving Day really about?

Standing in the shade of the Tree of Liberty is what sets Americans apart from the rest of the world. Colonial Americans planted the seeds of Liberty at Boston, Lexington, and Concord. From 1775 to 1783 the same Americans watered the Tree of Liberty with their blood so that their posterity, you and me, would enjoy Liberty like no other citizen in the world. Again, from 1861 to 1865 Americans watered the Tree of Liberty to keep our nation whole.

Thanksgiving Day is the day when we as Americans should give thanks for the wisdom of our Founding Fathers and the sacrifices of our forefathers. Historians estimate that approximately 23,000 Americans died for our Liberty during the War for Independence. Less than a century later another 620,000 Americans died during the Civil War. How many more sacrificed their fortunes? How many more sacrificed their well-being and safety? Let go of the myth and celebrate the truth. Be thankful that so many before us made sacrifices to ensure that we are free and enjoy the highest degree of Liberty in the world. Be thankful and ponder what you are willing to do to keep that Liberty.

If you do nothing else, tell the TRUTH.

[Daxdog]

You really spent a lot of time typing this out, noting better to do? Who cares?

[nick demis]

Can't wait till Christmas comes.

[golfing eagles]

You really spent a lot of time typing this out, noting better to do? Who cares?

My guess it was a copy and paste. Here's an excerpt from a similar website:

"While the decimated Wampanoag helped the British boat people survive their first harrowing year, Native Americans say that the favor was not returned. A group which calls itself "The United American Indians of New England" alleges that in return for Indian generosity, Pilgrims stole their grain stores and robbed Wampanoag graves."

Makes you wonder whose "truth" is being reported

Personally, I doubt the Pilgrims risked a transatlantic crossing to rob native graves, especially since their own laws would have punished that crime by death.

[rustyp]

[QUOTE=Sarah_W;2158760]Thanksgiving: The Truth






A proclamation by President George Washington and a congressional resolution established the first national Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1789. The reason for the holiday was to give "thanks" for the new Constitution. "...to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed..."


I was extremely thankful until I got to the last 6 words.

[rustyp]

[QUOTE=rustyp;2158816][QUOTE=Sarah_W;2158760]Thanksgiving: The Truth






A proclamation by President George Washington and a congressional resolution established the first national Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1789. The reason for the holiday was to give "thanks" for the new Constitution. "...to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed..."

Giveaway - free frozen turkey. I need to use up my complementary chicken in the pot.

[ThirdOfFive]

To be honest, I couldn’t care less. My reasons for celebrating Thanksgiving, or any holiday for that matter, are my own.

Beyond that, I would not attempt to insult others by preaching to them how THEY should celebrate their holiday.

[Bogie Shooter]

Pot stirring.:popcorn:

[golfing eagles]

Pot stirring.:popcorn:

With turkey soup in the pot :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[Byte1]

Ok, so you don't like Thanksgiving, or you just don't like religious holidays? Either way, whether you believe it's legit or not, it is a legal gov holiday that is celebrated by giving thanks in America. If you goal is to start another debate as to whether or not GOD exists or how badly the white man has treated the indigenous natives of this continent, why bother? Thanksgiving is a holiday where many families have a chance to get together, and that is a good thing, usually. Why cast a cloud over other folk's head regarding a great time of the year for them? My advice (probably unwanted) is to enjoy the positive attitude of your neighbors during the holiday season.

[golfing eagles]

Ok, so you don't like Thanksgiving, or you just don't like religious holidays? Either way, whether you believe it's legit or not, it is a legal gov holiday that is celebrated by giving thanks in America. If you goal is to start another debate as to whether or not GOD exists or how badly the white man has treated the indigenous natives of this continent, why bother? Thanksgiving is a holiday where many families have a chance to get together, and that is a good thing, usually. Why cast a cloud over other folk's head regarding a great time of the year for them? My advice (probably unwanted) is to enjoy the positive attitude of your neighbors during the holiday season.

I don't know if the OP's account is historically accurate or not. Without sounding unsympathetic, the reality is that every war has a winner and a loser. It sucks to be the loser, period.

[Byte1]

I don't know if the OP's account is historically accurate or not. Without sounding unsympathetic, the reality is that every war has a winner and a loser. It sucks to be the loser, period.

:agree:

[tophcfa]

All I care about is that it is still officially called Thanksgiving and that some group of wack jobs hasn’t tried to deface the holiday like they did to Columbus Day.

[retiredguy123]

With turkey soup in the pot :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:
I think the soup is made after Thanksgiving.

[manaboutown]

Canada has a Thanksgiving as well. Thanksgiving (Canada - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(Canada))

From the above:

"Years later, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, from 1604, also held feasts of thanks. They formed the Order of Good Cheer and held feasts with their First Nations neighbours, at which food was shared.

After the Seven Years' War ended in 1763, with New France handed over to the British, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving days were observed beginning in 1799 but did not occur every year.

During and after the American Revolution, American refugees who remained loyal to Great Britain moved from the newly independent United States to Canada. They brought the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada, such as the turkey, pumpkin, and squash."

So, it appears American Thanksgiving was being celebrated in some form during the America Revolution. I love Thanksgiving!

[villager7591]

The truth: Thanksgiving, in the USA, is where family and friends gather, to give thanks for a wonderful life.

[tophcfa]

The truth: Thanksgiving, in the USA, is where family and friends gather, to give thanks for a wonderful life.

…………, argue about politics, eat until they feel nauseous, then try not to fall asleep watching football.

[alwann]

Wasn't there a massacre where the Pilgrims in Jamestown got wiped out? To paraphrase something someone infamous once said: There were some good(and bad) people on both sides.

[dewilson58]

[QUOTE=Sarah_W;2158760]Thanksgiving: The Truth

A proclamation by President George Washington and a congressional resolution established the first national Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1789. The reason for the holiday was to give "thanks" for the new Constitution. "...to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed..."


I was extremely thankful until I got to the last 6 words.

Thanks for reading thru this...............Now I know how the story ended......No Way was I going to read.

:thumbup:

[dewilson58]

…………, argue about politics, eat until they feel nauseous, then try not to fall asleep watching football.

..................and I get to wear funny pants.

:evil6:

[golfing eagles]

Wasn't there a massacre where the Pilgrims in Jamestown got wiped out? To paraphrase something someone infamous once said: There were some good(and bad) people on both sides.

Yep. Like I said, war has winners and losers. Our ancestors didn't always win-----can anyone spell "George Armstrong Custer"????

[rustyp]

yep. Like i said, war has winners and losers. Our ancestors didn't always win-----can anyone spell "george armstrong custer"????


johrj aarmstraong kuhster

[Decadeofdave]

Wow, this really changes my mind and will reset the way I celebrate Thanksgiving, Not!

[Taltarzac725]

Thanksgiving 2022 - Tradition, Origins & Meaning - HISTORY (https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving)

I like this version above.

My ancestors on my Mother's side landed in Massachusetts around 1670-1680. Thanks to them for being so brave to come to a new country for them.

I recall my grandfather was involved in a lawsuit with the Wampanoag over properties their tribe was claiming as tribal land. Wampanoag - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wampanoag)

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council was established in 1972 under the leadership of its first president, Russell "Fast Turtle" Peters. In 1974 the Council petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs for recognition. In 1976 the tribe sued the Town of Mashpee for the return of ancestral homelands. The case was lost but the tribe continued to pursue federal recognition for three decades.

[BobnBev]

I can't believe I read the whole thing.......15 minutes of my life wasted.:blahblahblah::blahblahblah:

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

The Pequot War was a thing. You can pretend it has no significance, you can claim ignorance - until you learn otherwise. And then your decision to form an opinion on the matter is yours alone. The fable of Thanksgiving, what you were told in grammar school, what the advertising agencies push to sell turkeys and cardboard cutouts and dioramas and pumpkins - is a fable.

I think the OP is asking everyone to remember that Thanksgiving isn't really about all that advertising garbage. And to remember and respect that it IS about being thankful that we have our lives, our Democratic Republic, our relative freedoms and rights.

And NOT that the Pilgrims shared a meal with the Native Americans. Because that - never happened.

[golfing eagles]

The Pequot War was a thing. You can pretend it has no significance, you can claim ignorance - until you learn otherwise. And then your decision to form an opinion on the matter is yours alone. The fable of Thanksgiving, what you were told in grammar school, what the advertising agencies push to sell turkeys and cardboard cutouts and dioramas and pumpkins - is a fable.

I think the OP is asking everyone to remember that Thanksgiving isn't really about all that advertising garbage. And to remember and respect that it IS about being thankful that we have our lives, our Democratic Republic, our relative freedoms and rights.

And NOT that the Pilgrims shared a meal with the Native Americans. Because that - never happened.

You're probably right. But remember---it's the winners that write the history books.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

You're probably right. But remember---it's the winners that write the history books.

Spoken like someone who chooses which history books to believe.

Losers write history books too. And sometimes - there is no winner. And there are books written. Sometimes, everyone wins. And there aren't any books written.

[Two Bills]

Turkeys want Thanksgiving and Christmas banned, and changed to a vegan celebration!

[Taltarzac725]

Everyone'''s history matters: The Wampanoag Indian Thanksgiving story deserves to be known | Smithsonian Voices | National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Magazine (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-american-indian/2017/11/23/everyones-history-matters-and-wampanoag-indian-thanksgiving-story-deserves-be-known/)

If you want accurate history this might be it.

For a moment of history, the interests of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag aligned. When the Pilgrims landed in New England, after failing to make their way to the milder mouth of the Hudson, they had little food and no knowledge of the new land. The Wampanoag suggested a mutually beneficial relationship, in which the Pilgrims would exchange European weaponry for Wampanoag for food. With the help of an English-speaking Patuxet Indian named Tisquantum (not Squanto; he spoke English because he was kidnapped and sold in the European slave trade before making his way back to America), the Pilgrims produced a bountiful supply of food that summer. For their part, the Wampanoag were able to defend themselves against the Narragansett. The feast of indigenous foods that took place in October 1621, after the harvest, was one of thanks, but it more notably symbolized the rare, peaceful coexistence of the two groups.

I believe there is a series that also tells the story along these lines.

[manaboutown]

According to this they had a three day feast!

"The holiday dates back to November 1621, when the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians gathered at Plymouth for an autumn harvest feast, an event regarded as America’s “first Thanksgiving.”

While no records exist of the exact bill of fare, the Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow noted in his journal that the colony’s governor, William Bradford, sent four men on a “fowling” mission in preparation for the three-day event.

At the first Thanksgiving, colonists were likely outnumbered more than two to one by the Native Americans in attendance. Winslow writes: “many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men.” In fact, the Indigenous people at the feast would have been familiar with the tradition of “thanksgiving” since it was central to their regular spiritual practices—to give thanks for natural bounty.

The preceding winter had been a harsh one for the colonists. Seventy-eight percent of the women who had traveled on the Mayflower had perished that winter, leaving only around 50 colonists to attend the first Thanksgiving. According to eyewitness accounts, among the pilgrims, there were 22 men, just four women and over 25 children and teenagers.

What Was Eaten at the First Thanksgiving? - HISTORY (https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/first-thanksgiving-meal)

[coralway]

Hope the Yankees can sign Judge

[PugMom]

personally, i used to love listening to Rush's version of the Thanksgiving tale every year :shrug:

[Daxdog]

Yep. Like I said, war has winners and losers. Our ancestors didn't always win-----can anyone spell "George Armstrong Custer"????



I knew this photo would be handy someday. This is at Little Big Horn, it is where he fell, I think he is buried at West Point.

[bruce213]

Thanks to the OP. Hard to believe pointing out some truths is this controversial some 400 years later.

[golfing eagles]

johrj aarmstraong kuhster

That must be common core English:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[golfing eagles]

Spoken like someone who chooses which history books to believe.

Losers write history books too. And sometimes - there is no winner. And there are books written. Sometimes, everyone wins. And there aren't any books written.

Well, I do prefer choosing for myself rather than have some ultra woke university professor choose for me, if that helps.

[golfing eagles]

Everyone'''s history matters: The Wampanoag Indian Thanksgiving story deserves to be known | Smithsonian Voices | National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Magazine (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-american-indian/2017/11/23/everyones-history-matters-and-wampanoag-indian-thanksgiving-story-deserves-be-known/)

If you want accurate history this might be it.

For a moment of history, the interests of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag aligned. When the Pilgrims landed in New England, after failing to make their way to the milder mouth of the Hudson, they had little food and no knowledge of the new land. The Wampanoag suggested a mutually beneficial relationship, in which the Pilgrims would exchange European weaponry for Wampanoag for food. With the help of an English-speaking Patuxet Indian named Tisquantum (not Squanto; he spoke English because he was kidnapped and sold in the European slave trade before making his way back to America), the Pilgrims produced a bountiful supply of food that summer. For their part, the Wampanoag were able to defend themselves against the Narragansett. The feast of indigenous foods that took place in October 1621, after the harvest, was one of thanks, but it more notably symbolized the rare, peaceful coexistence of the two groups.

I believe there is a series that also tells the story along these lines.

Thanks to the OP. Hard to believe pointing out some truths is this controversial some 400 years later.

I think you may have misspelled TALTARZAC who pointing out the truth

[ThirdOfFive]

Well, I do prefer choosing for myself rather than have some ultra woke university professor choose for me, if that helps.
Second that...

[coffeebean]

You really spent a lot of time typing this out, noting better to do? Who cares?

There is such a thing as "copy and paste", you know. I sincerely doubt the OP typed this out, word by word.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Everyone'''s history matters: The Wampanoag Indian Thanksgiving story deserves to be known | Smithsonian Voices | National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Magazine (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-american-indian/2017/11/23/everyones-history-matters-and-wampanoag-indian-thanksgiving-story-deserves-be-known/)

If you want accurate history this might be it.


I believe there is a series that also tells the story along these lines.

The Wampanoag tribe were almost completely obliterated in Patuxet by smallpox before the settlers got to the abandoned village.

Fun fact: they weren't called Pilgrims, at the time. The word "pilgrims" was used as an adjective, to describe the activity of the Settlers, who a guy named Bradford said went on a pilgrimage. The word Pilgrims (capital P) as a collective name for these settlers started in the 1790's, around 150 years after the settlers settled in Plymouth Colony.

[tophcfa]

Hope the Yankees can sign Judge

Hope the Sox can sign Bogarts and Devers, but not sure what that has to do with Thanksgiving?

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

The pilgrims and native Americans did indeed share in the feast but they natives were not initially invited. The pilgrim men were engaging in several contests one of which was a shooting contest. Several native men came over to see what all of the noise was about. Once they saw that it was a celebration, they left and returned with the rest of their tribe who brought several deer to the feast and were welcomed by the pilgrims.

[walterray1]

The pilgrims and native Americans did indeed share in the feast but they natives were not initially invited. The pilgrim men were engaging in several contests one of which was a shooting contest. Several native men came over to see what all of the noise was about. Once they saw that it was a celebration, they left and returned with the rest of their tribe who brought several deer to the feast and were welcomed by the pilgrims.

another sign of the times. We can't even enjoy Thanksgiving. It seems that everything we have ever held to be true or close to our hearts is being torn down or destroyed. Will the OP (or to be fair someone else) post another one right before Christmas? Whether one side of the aisle or the other. Please.

[Taltarzac725]

another sign of the times. We can't even enjoy Thanksgiving. It seems that everything we have ever held to be true or close to our hearts is being torn down or destroyed. Will the OP (or to be fair someone else) post another one right before Christmas? Whether one side of the aisle or the other. Please.

Thanksgiving 2022 - Everything you need to know | National Today (https://nationaltoday.com/thanksgiving/)

A friend would tell me Illegitimi non carborundum - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegitimi_non_carborundum) when I was having all kinds of problems on another site.

Thanksgiving is what you make of it.

[PersonOfInterest]

No, No, No ..... None of that. Thanksgiving is about roast Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, Apple and Pumpkin pie. OH.... and the Football games.

[Byte1]

The pilgrims and native Americans did indeed share in the feast but they natives were not initially invited. The pilgrim men were engaging in several contests one of which was a shooting contest. Several native men came over to see what all of the noise was about. Once they saw that it was a celebration, they left and returned with the rest of their tribe who brought several deer to the feast and were welcomed by the pilgrims.

Was it "deer" or BEER? The party would have been grand if they had beer:laugh:

[Byte1]

And the Cliff Clavin award goes to...........:eclipsee_gold_cup:

"You know, I really think I can put together a great Thanksgiving dinner. This’ll be the second one that I’ve cooked, and believe me, the first one was not the disaster that my family said it was. Those kids had a pretty good time in that ambulance."

[Shapdaddy]

You must be woke. That was then and that was the way things were such as slavery. Many civilizations back then did the same. I’m not condoning it, just saying that was then. When we celebrate thanksgiving we appreciate the things we are thankful for primarily the health of all family members. You’re talking 200+yrs ago. Move on and quite trying to right a wrong. We know history was not always good to others. We (today) didn’t kill the Indians or enslave people, etc and all this woke crap. I’m living in 2022. Enough, move on with today. Yes, we know America made mistakes in the past but we’re still the BEST cause everyone is crossing the border legally and illegally trying to get here to this “horrible, inhumane country” to come to “The Land of Opportunity.”

[RedWingNut]

Like it or not Sarah’s letter describes what actually happened. He who wins the war gets to write the history. Another example that the American public has been bombarded by fake news for a long, long time.
Counting your blessings and giving thanks does not require a special day, the realization of how fortunate we are should be a daily occurrence

[skippy05]

Next time just try to research on youtube how to make the best-mashed potatoes.

[golfing eagles]

Next time just try to research on youtube how to make the best-mashed potatoes.

Agree. It would have been much more useful to cut and paste a pumpkin pie recipe.

[La lamy]

I find the OP "Sarah"'s picture of her shooting her gun disturbing. Combined with her living in Largo, she just doesn't seem to fit The Villages' motto of being "Florida's friendliest hometown". I prefer thinking of thanksgiving as a celebration of the bountiful harvest. Cheers and HAPPY thanksgiving y'all!

[golfing eagles]

I find the OP "Sarah"'s picture of her shooting her gun disturbing. Combined with her living in Largo, she just doesn't seem to fit The Villages' motto of being "Florida's friendliest hometown". I prefer thinking of thanksgiving as a celebration of the bountiful harvest. Cheers and HAPPY thanksgiving y'all!

Thank you. Some people just have to push their political view or agenda onto every topic imaginable. Really, it's Thanksgiving after all. (Even though it's a different day in Canada:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:)

[jayteadunn]

My great grandfather was Stephen Hopkins, a pilgrim who hosted Squanto in his home.

The only written account of the feast shared by the pilgrims and Indians was that of Edward Winslow in a letter to a friend in England in 1621. The pilgrims arrived in 1620. I’ll also point out that the Indians numbered around 90 and the pilgrims around 50 during the feast.

Letter of Edward Winslow, 11 December 1621

Loving, and old Friend; although I received no letter from you by this ship, yet forasmuch as I know you expect the performance of my promise, which was, to write unto you truly and faithfully of all things. I have therefore at this time sent unto you accordingly. Referring you for further satisfaction to our more large relations. You shall understand, that in this little time, that a few of us have been here, we have built seven dwelling-houses, and four for the use of the plantation, and have made preparation for divers others. We set the last spring some twenty acres of Indian corn, and sowed some six acres of barley and peas, and according to the manner of the Indians, we manured our ground with herrings or rather shads, which we have in great abundance, and take with great ease at our doors. Our corn did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown, they came up very well, and blossomed, but the sun parched them in the blossom; our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a more special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruit of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the company almost a week, at which time amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty. We have found the Indians very faithful in their covenant of peace with us; very loving and ready to pleasure us: we often go to them, and they come to us; some of us have been fifty miles by land in the country with them; the occasions and relations whereof you shall understand by our general and more full declaration of such things as are worth the noting, yea, it hath pleased God so to possess the Indians with a fear of us, and love unto us, that not only the greatest king amongst them called Massasoit, but also all the princes and peoples round about us, have either made suit unto us, or been glad of any occasion to make peace with us, so that seven of them at once have sent their messengers to us to that end, yea, an Fle at sea, which we never saw hath also together with the former yielded willingly to be under the protection, and subjects to our sovereign Lord King James, so that there is now great peace amongst the Indians themselves, which was not formerly, neither would have been but for us; and we for our parts walk as peaceably and safely in the wood, as in the highways in England, we entertain them familiarly in our houses, and they as friendly bestowing their venison on us. They are a people without any religion, or knowledge of any God, yet very trusty, quick of apprehension, ripe-witted, just, the men and women go naked, only a skin about their middles; for the temper of the air, here it agreeth well with that in England, and if there be any difference at all, this is somewhat hotter in summer, some think it to be colder in winter, but I cannot out of experience so say; the air is very clear and not foggy, as hath been reported. I never in my life remember a more seasonable year, than we have here enjoyed: and if we have once but kine, horses, and sheep, I make no question, but men might live as contented here as in any part of the world. For fish and fowl, we have great abundance, fresh cod in the summer is but coarse meat with us, our bay is full of lobsters all the summer, and affordeth variety of other fish; in September we can take a hogshead of eels in a night, with small labor, and can dig them out of their beds, all the winter we have mussels and othus at our doors: oysters we have none near, but we can have them brought by the Indians when we will; all the springtime the earth sendeth forth naturally very good sallet herbs: here are grapes, white and red, and very sweet and strong also. Strawberries, gooseberries, raspas, etc. Plums of three sorts, with black and red, being almost as good as a damson: abundance of roses, white, red, and damask: single, but very sweet indeed; the country wanteth only industrious men to employ, for it would grieve your hearts (if as I) you had seen so many miles together by goodly rivers uninhabited, and withal to consider those parts of the world wherein you live, to be even greatly burdened with abundance of people. These things I thought good to let you understand, being the truth of things as near as I could experimentally take knowledge of, and that you might on our behalf give God thanks who hath dealt so favorably with us.

Our supply of men from you came the ninth of November 1621, putting in at Cape Cod, some eight or ten leagues from us, the Indians that dwell thereabout were they who were owners of the corn which we found in caves, for which we have given them full content, and are in great league with them, they sent us word there was a ship near unto them, but thought it to be a Frenchman, and indeed for ourselves, we expected not a friend so soon. But when we perceived that she made for our bay, the governor commanded a great piece to be shot off, to call home such as were abroad at work; whereupon every man, yea, boy that could handle a gun were ready, with full resolution, that if she were an enemy, we would stand in our just defense, not fearing them, but God provided better for us than we supposed; these came all in health unto us, not any being sick by the way (otherwise than seasickness) and so continue at this time, by the blessing of God, the goodwife Ford was delivered of a son the first night she landed, and both of them are very well. When it pleaseth God, we are settled and fitted for the fishing business, and other trading, I doubt not but by the blessing of God, the gain will give content to all; in the mean time, that we have gotten we have sent by this ship, and though it be not much, yet it will witness for us, that we have not been idle, considering the smallness of our number all this summer. We hope the merchants will accept of it, and be encouraged to furnish us with things needful for further employment, which will also encourage us to put forth ourselves to the uttermost. Now because I expect your coming unto us with other of our friends, whose company we much desire, I thought good to advertise you of a few things needful; be careful to have a very good bread-room to put your biscuits in, let your cask for beer and water be iron-bound for the first tire if not more; let not your meat be dry-salted, none can better do it than the sailors; let your meal be so hard trod in your cask that you shall need an adz or hatchet to work it out with: trust not too much on us for corn at this time, for by reason of this last company that came, depending wholly upon us, we shall have little enough till harvest; be careful to come by some of your meal to spend by the way, it will much refresh you, build your cabins as open as you can, and bring good store of clothes, and bedding with you; bring every man a musket or fowling-piece, let your piece be long in the barrel, and fear not the weight of it, for most of our shooting is from stands; bring juice of lemons, and take it fasting, it is of good use; for hot waters, aniseed water is the best, but use it sparingly: if you bring anything for comfort in the country, butter or sallet oil, or both is very good; our Indian corn even the coarsest, maketh as pleasant meat as rice, therefore spare that unless to spend by the way; bring paper, and linseed oil for your windows, with cotton yarn for your lamps; let your shot be most for big fowls, and bring store of powder and shot: I forbear further to write for the present, hoping to see you by the next return, so I take my leave, commending you to the Lord for a safe conduct unto us. Resting in Him

Plymouth in New England
this 11 of December.
1621.

Your loving Friend
E. W.

[B-flat]

You must be woke. That was then and that was the way things were such as slavery. Many civilizations back then did the same. I’m not condoning it, just saying that was then. When we celebrate thanksgiving we appreciate the things we are thankful for primarily the health of all family members. You’re talking 200+yrs ago. Move on and quite trying to right a wrong. We know history was not always good to others. We (today) didn’t kill the Indians or enslave people, etc and all this woke crap. I’m living in 2022. Enough, move on with today. Yes, we know America made mistakes in the past but we’re still the BEST cause everyone is crossing the border legally and illegally trying to get here to this “horrible, inhumane country” to come to “The Land of Opportunity.”

Very well said!

[WingedFoot78]

What happens to the two turkeys donated to the White House? Are they really pardoned and live the rest of their lives in some turkey valhalla or are they put back into the general turkey population and end up on someone's holiday table? Just asking.

[Petersweeney]

Cooked and ate the turkey last night so as not to be offensive….Thursday we will cook corned beef and cabbage and give thanks to our sun worshiping ancestors….

[LaneyBeckler]

Thank you Jayteadunn for restoring validity to the Thanksgiving story!

[jljl62040]

Like it or not Sarah’s letter describes what actually happened. He who wins the war gets to write the history. Another example that the American public has been bombarded by fake news for a long, long time.
Counting your blessings and giving thanks does not require a special day, the realization of how fortunate we are should be a daily occurrence

Sarah omitted this part of the saga which is in Wikipedia:

The Pequots were the dominant Native American tribe in the southeastern portion of Connecticut Colony, and they had long competed with the neighboring Mohegan and Narragansett tribes.[2]: 167  The European colonists established trade with all three tribes, exchanging European goods for wampum and furs. The Pequots eventually allied with the Dutch colonists, while the Mohegans and others allied with the New England colonists.

A trader named John Oldham was murdered and his trading ship looted by Pequots,[2]: 177  and retaliation raids ensued by Colonists and their Native American allies. On April 23, 1637, 200 Pequot warriors attacked the colonial village of Wethersfield killing 6 men and 3 women, all noncombatants. This was a major turning point in the Pequot war as it enraged the settlers that the warriors would kill civilians and led to increased support for the Pequot War among colonists.[3] According to Katherine Grandjean, the Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 damaged the corn and other crop harvests of that year, making food supplies scarce and creating competition for winter food supplies. This in turn increased the tensions between the Pequots and Colonists who were ill-prepared to face periods of famine.[4]

[LaneyBeckler]

Reminds me of Saturday Night Live's skit of Debbie Downer at the Thanksgiving table.
Watch Saturday Night Live Highlight: Debbie Downer: Thanksgiving Dinner - NBC.com (https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/debbie-downer-thanksgiving-dinner/2750425)

[Steve]

Thanksgiving: The Truth

Thanksgiving is next week and Americans will gather their families and friends to sit down for the annual feast. Some will hold hands and recite all they are thankful for. Some will tell the story of Pilgrims and Indians sitting down for a feast. Many will put out the standard props of Pilgrims, pumpkins, gourds, feathers, etc. They will perpetuate the myth and the lie.

The lie.

The fictional partnership of 17th Century European Pilgrims and New England Indians sharing a celebratory meal appears to be just 100 years old. And it was only after the First World War that a version of such a Puritan-Indian partnership took hold in elementary schools across the American landscape. We can thank the invention of textbooks and their mass purchase by public schools for embedding this "Thanksgiving" image in our modern minds. It was, of course, a complete invention, a cleverly created slice of cultural propaganda, just another in a long line of inspired nationalistic myths such as the Easter Bunny.

The first Thanksgiving Day did occur in the year 1637, but it was nothing like our Thanksgiving today. On that day the Massachusetts Colony Governor, John Winthrop, proclaimed such a "Thanksgiving" to celebrate the safe return of a band of heavily armed hunters, all colonial volunteers. They had just returned from their journey to what is now Mystic, Connecticut where they massacred 700 Pequot Indians. Seven hundred Indians - men, women and children - all murdered. A celebration of murder.

Did the Pilgrims share a Thanksgiving feast with the Pequot and Wampanoag Indians as they celebrated their bounty? No, that never happened. Today our national memory is corrupted by the lie of a fictional event. Let there be no mistake, even 382 years later the American Indians of this country know the truth and they remember. They remember it as a day of mourning.

Thanksgiving Day is coming. We will gather with our families and enjoy a feast. We will celebrate and we will give thanks. But let us celebrate the truth, not a lie. Tell your family and friends the real reason and purpose of Thanksgiving. Have your feast. Hold hands and recite all you are thankful for but include the truth of our national holiday.

The Truth.

What exactly is the origin of our national holiday? The fact of the matter is Thanksgiving began with George Washington and became official with Abraham Lincoln. Two presidential proclamations.

Thanksgiving Proclamation signed October 3, 1789 in New York

A proclamation by President George Washington and a congressional resolution established the first national Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1789. The reason for the holiday was to give "thanks" for the new Constitution. "...to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed..."


Thanksgiving Proclamation sighed October 3, 1863 in Washington

A proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln created Thanksgiving Day as a National holiday. Prior to this each state had their own Thanksgiving celebrations at various times. Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln urging him to make Thanksgiving a National holiday so all Americans would celebrate at the same time. Fresh from a Union victory at Gettysburg, the turning point of the Civil War, Lincoln made the proclamation creating the National holiday to occur the last Thursday of November for the nation to give thanks to Almighty God and "commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged."


Americans should celebrate the truth that 55 men gathered in 1787 in Philadelphia to design an experimental form of government - by the People and for the People; giving us the Constitution, accepted and signed by all states in 1789 then celebrated by Proclamation on November 26, 1789.

On October 3, 1789, George Washington published his proclamation designating Thursday, November 26, 1789 as the Day of Thanksgiving. Our first President, "George Washington issued a proclamation on October 3, 1789, designating Thursday, November 26 as a national day of thanks. In his proclamation, Washington declared that the necessity for such a day sprung from the Almighty’s care of Americans prior to the Revolution, assistance to them in achieving independence, and help in establishing the constitutional government."

****

Source: Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 * George Washington's Mount Vernon (https://www.mountvernon.org/education/primary-sources-2/article/thanksgiving-proclamation-of-1789/)

" By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
Go: Washington"
****
Source: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/)

Americans should celebrate that 74 years after George Washington's proclamation, when our nation was torn in half, men and women worked and fought and died to heal this nation prompting Abraham Lincoln to memorialize it as a National holiday.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She explained, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritative fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution."

The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise." According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary how he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

****
"Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward,
Secretary of State"
*****

The term "Pilgrims" didn't even exist until the 1880's. Around that time there was a popular children's book containing a fictional story of Pilgrims and Indians enjoying a feast together with the setting being the early years of settlors. This story gained in popularity, became a play, and then began to flourish in grade schools across the country. Decades went by and we as citizens just accepted the story as factual. It is not.

Okay then, what is Thanksgiving Day really about?

Standing in the shade of the Tree of Liberty is what sets Americans apart from the rest of the world. Colonial Americans planted the seeds of Liberty at Boston, Lexington, and Concord. From 1775 to 1783 the same Americans watered the Tree of Liberty with their blood so that their posterity, you and me, would enjoy Liberty like no other citizen in the world. Again, from 1861 to 1865 Americans watered the Tree of Liberty to keep our nation whole.

Thanksgiving Day is the day when we as Americans should give thanks for the wisdom of our Founding Fathers and the sacrifices of our forefathers. Historians estimate that approximately 23,000 Americans died for our Liberty during the War for Independence. Less than a century later another 620,000 Americans died during the Civil War. How many more sacrificed their fortunes? How many more sacrificed their well-being and safety? Let go of the myth and celebrate the truth. Be thankful that so many before us made sacrifices to ensure that we are free and enjoy the highest degree of Liberty in the world. Be thankful and ponder what you are willing to do to keep that Liberty.

If you do nothing else, tell the TRUTH.

Is she done yet???

[NoMo50]

Good Lord, lighten up...and pass the turkey!

[Djean1981]

All those web pages were created way after the fact... Basically it's a day to be thankful.

[Daxdog]

barf:faint:1. You know England has Thanksgiving also, but it on July 4th. (Just incase you don’t get it, they are thankful to get rid of us!). I know not a good joke if you have explain it,

2. Next she is going to tell that there really isn’t a Santa Claus, or Easter Bunny!

[NoMoSno]

Wonder if Plymouth rock is real?

[jparsoneau@aol.com]

It is absolutely amazing how much time people spend on here. And as maybe Thanksgiving and the holidays have changed over the past hundreds and hundreds of years I’m sure some of the traditions aren’t around anymore and some new traditions are here embrace it or ignore it.
Or just continue on here, listening to people gripe

[Regorp]

You really spent a lot of time typing this out, noting better to do? Who cares?

Ok. Let us gather on this last Thursday of November to be thankful for all we still have in this crazy mixed up world with friends or families, enjoying the food we can still afford. None of us was there in the 17th century to witness the first Thanksgiving, so let us call it historic and eat well my friends. Happy Thanksgiving!!

[BostonRich]

I have to laugh when I read all this hatred for the terrible explorers like Columbus and the Pilgrims and then read articles about how the wonderful indigenous peoples of the world used to sacrifice their young and brutally kill each other for sport. Maybe the "White Man" and his civilized ways weren't so bad after all.

76 child sacrifice victims with their hearts ripped out found in Peru excavation | Live Science (https://www.livescience.com/child-sacrifices-chimu-people-peru)

[golfing eagles]

Sarah omitted this part of the saga which is in Wikipedia:

The Pequots were the dominant Native American tribe in the southeastern portion of Connecticut Colony, and they had long competed with the neighboring Mohegan and Narragansett tribes.[2]: 167  The European colonists established trade with all three tribes, exchanging European goods for wampum and furs. The Pequots eventually allied with the Dutch colonists, while the Mohegans and others allied with the New England colonists.

A trader named John Oldham was murdered and his trading ship looted by Pequots,[2]: 177  and retaliation raids ensued by Colonists and their Native American allies. On April 23, 1637, 200 Pequot warriors attacked the colonial village of Wethersfield killing 6 men and 3 women, all noncombatants. This was a major turning point in the Pequot war as it enraged the settlers that the warriors would kill civilians and led to increased support for the Pequot War among colonists.[3] According to Katherine Grandjean, the Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 damaged the corn and other crop harvests of that year, making food supplies scarce and creating competition for winter food supplies. This in turn increased the tensions between the Pequots and Colonists who were ill-prepared to face periods of famine.[4]

So, in other words, the OP was a bunch of agenda driven garbage. Doesn't matter, I'll be enjoying my turkey either way

[tophcfa]

Doesn't matter, I'll be enjoying my turkey either way

But will it be brined or not?

[JWGifford]

Guess who’s NOT getting invited to Thanksgiving dinner. 😂

[ThirdOfFive]

So, in other words, the OP was a bunch of agenda driven garbage. Doesn't matter, I'll be enjoying my turkey either way
Aren’t most things, these days?

The problem is that you cannot morally judge the events of one time with the refined sensibilities of a later time. It just doesn’t work. That is why it was so amusing a few years back with all the ersatz angst over slavery being howled to the skies. And for the part, the people howling the loudest knew the least. Looking back throughout history, it is easy to imagine slavery as cutting-edge social progress, if the alternative was to be sacrificed to some deity or other, or being tortured to death for the amusement of your captors.

Same thing for our pre-revolutionary war history. We can agonize all we want over the plight of the indigenous residents of this continent, what with the Europeans coming over and wanting land, but that was the ethic of the time and for quite some time after. Empire-building was SOP for the big powers, and not just in North America but pretty much all over the world: India, SE Asia, Africa, an d Australia comes to mind. Would it be right today? No. But knowing that does not make what happened then, wrong.

[Garywt]

The one thing I cannot stand is the way people today try to change history to match todays standards. History is history whether we agree with it or not and it should not be changed. Thanksgiving has become a great family holiday and it should be embraced. Many things in history would be so wrong today but at the time they were excepted behavior and we cannot go back in time to change it. Every time someone tries to change history or remove a statue etc I cringe.

[golfing eagles]

Aren’t most things, these days?

The problem is that you cannot morally judge the events of one time with the refined sensibilities of a later time. It just doesn’t work. That is why it was so amusing a few years back with all the ersatz angst over slavery being howled to the skies. And for the part, the people howling the loudest knew the least. Looking back throughout history, it is easy to imagine slavery as cutting-edge social progress, if the alternative was to be sacrificed to some deity or other, or being tortured to death for the amusement of your captors.

Same thing for our pre-revolutionary war history. We can agonize all we want over the plight of the indigenous residents of this continent, what with the Europeans coming over and wanting land, but that was the ethic of the time and for quite some time after. Empire-building was SOP for the big powers, and not just in North America but pretty much all over the world: India, SE Asia, Africa, an d Australia comes to mind. Would it be right today? No. But knowing that does not make what happened then, wrong.

Sorry, that makes way too much sense:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

And for the committed woke, it won't make a difference

[Taltarzac725]

Wonder if Plymouth rock is real?


It is a tourist attraction.

[PugMom]

The pilgrims and native Americans did indeed share in the feast but they natives were not initially invited. The pilgrim men were engaging in several contests one of which was a shooting contest. Several native men came over to see what all of the noise was about. Once they saw that it was a celebration, they left and returned with the rest of their tribe who brought several deer to the feast and were welcomed by the pilgrims.

that was my understanding, also. it was a peaceful celebration giving thanks for the new world & peace with indian tribes

[Lindsyburnsy]

And yet again, historical truths are trying to be re-written or forgotten because some may feel "bad". Let's dumbdown our citizens, is what is really happening here. Thank you for your article. Already knew the truth, but it's good to remind people.

[PugMom]

I find the OP "Sarah"'s picture of her shooting her gun disturbing. Combined with her living in Largo, she just doesn't seem to fit The Villages' motto of being "Florida's friendliest hometown". I prefer thinking of thanksgiving as a celebration of the bountiful harvest. Cheers and HAPPY thanksgiving y'all!

thx & a Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! 💛

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

No, No, No ..... None of that. Thanksgiving is about roast Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, Apple and Pumpkin pie. OH.... and the Football games.

Yup. Just like christmas in the USA is all about a fictional fat guy in a red suit, spending money on things no one actually needs, greedily awaiting the moment when you can find out what YOU GET that year, big sales at the stores, employees being forced to work on what is supposedly one of their religion's holiest days of the year.

Oh and maybe showing up at church but skipping the sermon because you want to open all those presents.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

The one thing I cannot stand is the way people today try to change history to match todays standards. History is history whether we agree with it or not and it should not be changed. Thanksgiving has become a great family holiday and it should be embraced. Many things in history would be so wrong today but at the time they were excepted behavior and we cannot go back in time to change it. Every time someone tries to change history or remove a statue etc I cringe.

As long as people aren't trying to pretend that the history never happened, or happened completely differently than it actually happened, we should absolutely embrace our current holidays and accept them on their own merits.

Thanksgiving is, and should be, about celebrating what we're thankful for in our lives. It isn't about the Colonialists and Native Americans getting together to share a meal in peace and love and harmony. Also, corn would've been dried corn used in grinding for cornmeal. Fresh corn was used as hog feed and wasn't considered fit for human consumption at all. There would've been better options than turkey, which were ONLY wild, and horribly gamey tasting. Deer were much more prolific in New England early winter, plus various fish including eel. There were not likely any potatoes at all, and pumpkin pie wasn't much of a thing in the 1600's, since sugar was scarce.

Most of the "traditional feast" is a modern tradition, not a historic one. That's not to say our traditional feast isn't valid. It's 100% totally valid. But we need to stop pretending there's some long history leading to the First Thanksgiving to back it up. That - is fiction.

[Indydealmaker]

Alternative Anecdotes.

[Carole clausen]

As we all celebrate Thanksgiving, however, I would like to ask that remember those who aren’t as fortunate. I work at our Community United Methodist Church Food Pantry. We are a small pantry with a big heart. To date we have 230 clients with many on a waiting list. We have seen more emergencies lately and all we can do is provide them with emergency food and put them on our waiting list. Our pantry is in Fruitland Park. I collect groceries at my home, 1452 Olustee Pl. and take them there every Tuesday. If you can help with basics like cereal, peanut butter, crackers, soup, Mac and cheese or just about anything, we would be so appreciative. I thank you and those without thank you.

[Whitley]

There is such a thing as "copy and paste", you know. I sincerely doubt the OP typed this out, word by word.

Are you suggesting the OP is not intellectually able to type out such a message. Did you ask the OP if they associate as someone with a knowledge of US history and a talent at typing?

[Whitley]

Next time just try to research on youtube how to make the best-mashed potatoes.

Now that I would like to hear about.

[Whitley]

But we need to stop pretending there's some long history leading to the First Thanksgiving to back it up.


Why. Why need we stop? For me, a tradition over 100 years old to be thankful for blessings and family is a rather storied tradition.

[Joe V.]

What happens to the two turkeys donated to the White House? Are they really pardoned and live the rest of their lives in some turkey valhalla or are they put back into the general turkey population and end up on someone's holiday table? Just asking.

They get donated to Frying Pan Park, a petting farm for children, near Herndon, VA.

[Worldseries27]

and yet again, historical truths are trying to be re-written or forgotten because some may feel "bad". Let's dumbdown our citizens, is what is really happening here. Thank you for your article. Already knew the truth, but it's good to remind people.
example 1.
The op refers to the native americans as "indians" when it was christopher columbus who mistakenly gave them that appellation thinking he had landed in the indies.
Example 2.
Creation of the universe is dumdowned to lets call it childishly " the big bang". For the obvious reason being to avoid admitting there was a creator.

[Stu from NYC]

Agree. It would have been much more useful to cut and paste a pumpkin pie recipe.

Apple pie! save the pumpkin for Halloween a wonderful pagan holiday.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Apple pie! save the pumpkin for Halloween a wonderful pagan holiday.

Hey don't forget about the evergreen tree on Christmas, which is a pagan symbol representing life that continues even through the dark of the Winter Solstice - a pagan holiday (since it's pretty much confirmed that IF jesus existed, he wouldn't have been born December 25, or even close to it. He was born in the spring - which - according to people who actually study this stuff, would've put him as being born in early April. But it's much more prudent for christians to obscure paganism by stealing their culture, religion, rituals, and traditions, and re-invent them as their own. And so - just like they did with the spring rite of fertility/rebirth and Easter, they took the winter solstice and made up christmas.

Comparative religion is fun.

[jimjamuser]

Since this thread has gone for 6 pages, then I would say that the original thread starter did the forum a favor by picking an interesting subject and I, for one, enjoyed the controversy. There is something positive about getting the true version of a historical event. It is also interesting to see how there was so little agreement on what is the TRUE version. It was very interesting that post #55 was COMPLETELY at odds with the original thread starter - yet both seemed VERY confident in their version of the event.

I tend to believe post # 55. I was also impressed to hear that the area was teeming with wildlife like fish, game birds,
and deer. I imagine that there were also a lot of black bears. It seemed like a land of milk and honey where finding food was NOT a problem. I never thought of the Native Americans as being as docile and friendly as depicted in post #55. Maybe I was wrong about that. And I always imagined a HARD life for the early Colonists.

No post mentioned something that I read once. That there was a HUGE population of Native Americans BEFORE the Colonists arrived. But, then the Europeans brought with them DISEASES that the Native Americans had no immunity for ........and they died off to just a fraction of their prior population. I wonder IF that is true?

[jimjamuser]

Hey don't forget about the evergreen tree on Christmas, which is a pagan symbol representing life that continues even through the dark of the Winter Solstice - a pagan holiday (since it's pretty much confirmed that IF jesus existed, he wouldn't have been born December 25, or even close to it. He was born in the spring - which - according to people who actually study this stuff, would've put him as being born in early April. But it's much more prudent for christians to obscure paganism by stealing their culture, religion, rituals, and traditions, and re-invent them as their own. And so - just like they did with the spring rite of fertility/rebirth and Easter, they took the winter solstice and made up christmas.

Comparative religion is fun.
But........Easter is STILL about FERTILITY because the Easter bunny is a bunny after all. And everyone knows how fertile bunnies are

[jimjamuser]

example 1.
The op refers to the native americans as "indians" when it was christopher columbus who mistakenly gave them that appellation thinking he had landed in the indies.
Example 2.
Creation of the universe is dumdowned to lets call it childishly " the big bang". For the obvious reason being to avoid admitting there was a creator.
The term "big bang" is neither childish nor "dumbed down". It is very descriptive as to what scientists have found out about the expanding universe. It is a perfectly good term. Science and belief systems tend to be kept separate.

[jayteadunn]

Good point on the loss of so many native Americans. I read recently there was an epidemic and 90% of the population died between 1616 and 1619. Pilgrims arrived in 1620.

Here is a link to an article on the topic

JSTOR: Access Check (https://www.jstor.org/stable/44450997)


Since this thread has gone for 6 pages, then I would say that the original thread starter did the forum a favor by picking an interesting subject and I, for one, enjoyed the controversy. There is something positive about getting the true version of a historical event. It is also interesting to see how there was so little agreement on what is the TRUE version. It was very interesting that post #55 was COMPLETELY at odds with the original thread starter - yet both seemed VERY confident in their version of the event.

I tend to believe post # 55. I was also impressed to hear that the area was teeming with wildlife like fish, game birds,
and deer. I imagine that there were also a lot of black bears. It seemed like a land of milk and honey where finding food was NOT a problem. I never thought of the Native Americans as being as docile and friendly as depicted in post #55. Maybe I was wrong about that. And I always imagined a HARD life for the early Colonists.

No post mentioned something that I read once. That there was a HUGE population of Native Americans BEFORE the Colonists arrived. But, then the Europeans brought with them DISEASES that the Native Americans had no immunity for ........and they died off to just a fraction of their prior population. I wonder IF that is true?

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

But........Easter is STILL about FERTILITY because the Easter bunny is a bunny after all. And everyone knows how fertile bunnies are

Especially the ones that lay eggs.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

As for native americans dying of disease:

The Spaniards brought smallpox to the Aztec. That started the epidemic on that corner of Central America, in the 1500's.

Smallpox was -intentionally- given to Native Americans in the 1700's, by Wm. Amherst in Massachusetts, via infected blankets offered as "gifts." It was an intentional attempt at genocide.

Other diseases were "given" to Native Americans by settlers and Colonialists during that window between the early 1500's and the mid-1700's:

Among the diseases introduced to the Native American population were smallpox, bubonic plague, chickenpox, cholera, the common cold, influenza, diphtheria, malaria, measles, scarlet fever, sexually transmitted diseases, typhoid, typhus, tuberculosis, leptospirosis, yellow fever and pertussis.

Those diseases did not exist in what is now called the United States. It was all imported by Europeans, including those coming over on the Mayflower.

Leptospirosis was the primary cause of disease and death among the Wampanoag tribe, and most of the Settlers coming from the Mayflower.

This is NOT what we should be thankful for. Especially /most/ of us, whose forefathers didn't settle in the "New World" at all. Most of us here in the Villages can't even claim ancestry in this continent dating back further than the early 1800's.

[Worldseries27]

the term "big bang" is neither childish nor "dumbed down". It is very descriptive as to what scientists have found out about the expanding universe. It is a perfectly good term. Science and belief systems tend to be kept separate.
beg to differ. Maybe you can draw upon your childhood memories when millions of children played with cap guns and shouted " bang bang your dead". Big bang is as childish as it gets. As for motives, to each their own

[mtdjed]

Obviously, the guy who wrote the following must have been a liar, because the OP said this never happened. Fake News even then!


The first Thanksgiving, colonists were likely outnumbered more than two to one by the Native Americans in attendance. Winslow writes: “many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men.” In fact, the Indigenous people at the feast would have been familiar with the tradition of “thanksgiving” since it was central to their regular spiritual practices—to give thanks for natural bounty."

[LG999]

Some of us feel that we do, in fact, have something or many things to be thankful for and those things may have nothing at all to do with pilgrims or Indians or "props". Personally, I do not care how the holiday got started. I like that there is a day set aside to reflect on what I do have to be grateful for and to do that with others that matter to me.

[LG999]

well. said

[jimbomaybe]

You really spent a lot of time typing this out, noting better to do? Who cares?
Many people have an interest in history, there is more than a little truth in the idea that if you don't know history you will be destined to repeat it.The further you go back from the present the better you can argue "taken out of historical context" . Look at how different Germany and Japan treat their action during WW2. Today Germans are very cognizant of the crimes committed by the Nazis, Japan on the other hand is basically forgotten and doesn't want to remember,, go figure

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I find the OP "Sarah"'s picture of her shooting her gun disturbing. Combined with her living in Largo, she just doesn't seem to fit The Villages' motto of being "Florida's friendliest hometown". I prefer thinking of thanksgiving as a celebration of the bountiful harvest. Cheers and HAPPY thanksgiving y'all!
You might be surprised to learn that about 2/3 of all Villagers have concealed carry permits. So guns are definitely part of The Villages way of life.
And by Largo, she might mean The Village if Largo right here in Florida’s Friendliest Home Town.

[La lamy]

You might be surprised to learn that about 2/3 of all Villagers have concealed carry permits. So guns are definitely part of The Villages way of life.
And by Largo, she might mean The Village if Largo right here in Florida’s Friendliest Home Town.

Wow that is surprising about the concealed carry permits and you're right, there is a Village of Largo!

[Lindsyburnsy]

I don't think anybody was preaching anything. I didn't know the truth about Thanksgiving until not that long ago and I am glad that I do now. It would have been nice to learn history as it was, not what we want it to be to make us feel better.

[Stu from NYC]

You might be surprised to learn that about 2/3 of all Villagers have concealed carry permits. So guns are definitely part of The Villages way of life.
And by Largo, she might mean The Village if Largo right here in Florida’s Friendliest Home Town.

Thought that number was much lower.

[mtdjed]

You might be surprised to learn that about 2/3 of all Villagers have concealed carry permits. So guns are definitely part of The Villages way of life.
.

I am not sure where you got that statistic, but it does not sound realistic. It sounds like an urban myth. I have a gun but don't have a concealed carry permit. I tried to Google the claim but the closest I could get is 8 to 10 % of Floridians as an estimate. On our small street of 9 home, 15 people, I would guess that two persons might have a valid concealed carry permit. Legally having a gun in one's residence does not require a "carry permit". Permits are only valid for 7 years.

[Byte1]

Like it or not Sarah’s letter describes what actually happened. He who wins the war gets to write the history. Another example that the American public has been bombarded by fake news for a long, long time.
Counting your blessings and giving thanks does not require a special day, the realization of how fortunate we are should be a daily occurrence

Personally, my family enjoys an excuse to get together for a festive celebration. We give thanks to GOD for another year that we have put behind us. You are correct in saying we do not require a "special day" to do so. We do give thanks every day. Some folks give thanks on Sundays where they gather together to worship and give thanks. As you said, a special day is not required of us. We just do it. Humans enjoy celebrating holidays, especially if families come together in one location. We don't "need" to get together in order to give thanks, but we do. On the other hand, what does it say about those that disparage those that enjoy a good holiday dedicated to giving "THANKS" to our maker? Hopefully, those folks can find a means to be thankful.

[ThirdOfFive]

I am not sure where you got that statistic, but it does not sound realistic. It sounds like an urban myth. I have a gun but don't have a concealed carry permit. I tried to Google the claim but the closest I could get is 8 to 10 % of Floridians as an estimate. On our small street of 9 home, 15 people, I would guess that two persons might have a valid concealed carry permit. Legally having a gun in one's residence does not require a "carry permit". Permits are only valid for 7 years.
When we attended the permit-to-carry instruction and range session for our Florida permits, our instructor said pretty much the same thing. I agree that it sounds high, but there are a lot of retired military and law enforcement living here so probably not that far off.

[Daxdog]

If you expected people in the past to live up to our standards you need to rethink. Even 25 years ago people did/said things you may think are bad. I didn’t read all the posts but how did it go to conceal carry! Have a good Thanksgiving everyone.