Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, of family gatherings and holiday meals. A time of turkeys, too much stuffing, and pumpkin pie. A time for Indian corn, holiday parades and falling leaves. (It can also be a horrendous affair when you are forced to dine with relatives you don't particularly care to stay in the same room with, but we won't discuss that here).
It seems as if we have always celebrated this special holiday, but how did the traditions associated with Thanksgiving evolve? In the United States, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. But did you know that other nations also celebrate an official Thanksgiving Day? Those nations include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Korea, Liberia, and Switzerland. For example, in ancient England, the traditional harvest festival, called Harvest Home or In-gathering was a time, when great quantities of food were prepared and served.
By the end of the 1800's, Thanksgiving services were held in churches and parishioners were often asked for donations of food. Colorful wreaths made of seasonal fruits decorated the village and church.
Here in the good old USA, according to most historians, the Pilgrims never observed an annual Thanksgiving feast in autumn. When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts in late 1620, they were unprepared for survival. Grain brought on the Mayflower wasn't made for planting in the rocky American soil. Perhaps most devastating, the harsh weather reduced the number of settlers by half.
Thankfully, invaluable help came from Squanto, also known as Tisquantum, a Wampanoag American Indian who taught the Pilgrims how to plant and fertilize appropriately for the rugged surroundings. Squanto gave them seeds of corn, wheat and barley in the Spring of 1621.
That fall, the Pilgrims realized their first harvest of vegetables and grain would be plentiful. Governor William Bradford declared a day of thanksgiving. He send “four men fowling”: after wild ducks and geese. It's not really certain if wild turkey was a part of the feast but it is true that they had venison. The term “turkey” was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of fowl.
According to historical sources, the Pilgrims never held an actual autumnal Thanksgiving feast. The Pilgrims did have a feast in 1621 near Plymouth, Massachusetts, after their first harvest. This is the feast people often refer to as "The First Thanksgiving." At the three-day feast, 50 settlers hosted 90 American Indians and since it was the Wampanoag's custom, they contributed venison to the meal.
This feast was never repeated, so it can't be called the start of a tradition, nor did the colonists or Pilgrims call it a Thanksgiving Feast. In fact, to these devoutly religious people, a day of thanksgiving was a day of prayer and fasting. Nevertheless, the 1621 feast has become a model for the Thanksgiving celebration in the United States.
Even though this harvest feast was never called Thanksgiving by the pilgrims of 1621, it has become the model for the traditional Thanksgiving celebrations in the United States.
In Midtown Manhattan, New York City, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held annually every Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving parades are also held in cities like Houston, Philadelphia and Detroit.
Another well celebrated tradition in the United States is the start of the Christmas shopping season the day after Thanksgiving, known as the busiest shopping day of the year.
And then there's the all-American sport of Football. Football is an important part of many Thanksgiving Day celebrations in the United States. In fact, the Detroit Lions of the American National Football League have hosted a game every Thanksgiving Day since 1934 (except 1939-1944, during World War II). The Dallas Cowboys have hosted a game every Thanksgiving Day since 1966 (except 1975 and 1977). Plus, many regional and rival college and high school football games are played on Thanksgiving weekend.
For Americans, Thanksgiving represents the combination of different traditions of giving thanks. One was a lengthy religious tradition of religious observances where people gathered to that God for their lives and good fortune. Another, more ancient tradition is to celebrate the bounty of a good harvest. Many people believe it is a shame that we must set aside one day for thanksgiving, because every day we are alive is a day of thanks in itself.
"Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow."
- Edward Sandford Martin
