Journey Back in Time: Unraveling the Origins and Traditions of Thanksgiving
Nov 20, 2023
Darian Weaver
Imagine yourself aboard the Mayflower, battling harsh elements, facing an unknown world, all in the name of faith and a better future. Can you picture it? We're traveling back in time to unravel the captivating origins of Thanksgiving, shedding light on the Pilgrims' journey and their first Winter in the New World. We scrutinize the stereotypical image of the Pilgrims, bringing to light the surprising truths about their clothing and their lifestyles. In addition, the shocking encounter with an English-speaking member of the Abenaki tribe adds a dash of intrigue to our adventure.
What comes to mind when you think of a Thanksgiving feast? Turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie perhaps? What if I told you our ancestors' first Thanksgiving menu was far from what we pile on our plates today? We discuss in detail the likely foods served at that first feast, the role of Native American tribes in this historical event, and how Thanksgiving finally found its place as a national holiday in 1941. We also share a touching personal family tradition, expressing gratitude through kernels of corn, that truly encapsulates the essence of this holiday.
Finally, we take a step back to reflect on what Thanksgiving genuinely means. Beyond the turkey and trimmings, it's a holiday that celebrates gratitude, unity, and the strength of our nation. We encourage you, our listeners, to use this season to acknowledge and appreciate the blessings in your lives, the contributions of those around you, and the resilience of our great nation. Remember, it’s not just about saying thanks; it's about feeling it. So join us on this journey, as we explore, learn, and celebrate Thanksgiving together.
Imagine yourself aboard the Mayflower, battling harsh elements, facing an unknown world, all in the name of faith and a better future. Can you picture it? We're traveling back in time to unravel the captivating origins of Thanksgiving, shedding light on the Pilgrims' journey and their first Winter in the New World. We scrutinize the stereotypical image of the Pilgrims, bringing to light the surprising truths about their clothing and their lifestyles. In addition, the shocking encounter with an English-speaking member of the Abenaki tribe adds a dash of intrigue to our adventure.
What comes to mind when you think of a Thanksgiving feast? Turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie perhaps? What if I told you our ancestors' first Thanksgiving menu was far from what we pile on our plates today? We discuss in detail the likely foods served at that first feast, the role of Native American tribes in this historical event, and how Thanksgiving finally found its place as a national holiday in 1941. We also share a touching personal family tradition, expressing gratitude through kernels of corn, that truly encapsulates the essence of this holiday.
Finally, we take a step back to reflect on what Thanksgiving genuinely means. Beyond the turkey and trimmings, it's a holiday that celebrates gratitude, unity, and the strength of our nation. We encourage you, our listeners, to use this season to acknowledge and appreciate the blessings in your lives, the contributions of those around you, and the resilience of our great nation. Remember, it’s not just about saying thanks; it's about feeling it. So join us on this journey, as we explore, learn, and celebrate Thanksgiving together.
Speaker 1:
Welcome one and all to Co-Professional Podcast. This is your podcast. It's for the pros that have a need to know, that are on the go. Today is kind of a special edition. You have listened to Sheila Harrington, my better half. Last Christmas, our listeners heard a great Christmas story. We did a Labor Day presentation. Sheila did an outstanding July 4th Sheila our listeners really want to know about Thanksgiving. So, Sheila, I want to say first thank you for doing this. How are you today?
Speaker 2:
I'm good. I'm good, looking forward to discussing Thanksgiving.
Speaker 1:
I'll start off, and the listeners that are doing anything in today for this episode. I want them to know. Sheila and I have been married many, many years, and when she started doing these things, she just adds to it. So let's start this off. Sheila, you're not about to talk about one of my favorite holidays, which is Thanksgiving, and I can't wait to be honest with you, with all the grandchildren and so forth, but many of us learned about the first Thanksgiving piece and sure, so give our listeners some background. What brought about this special holiday?
Speaker 2:
Well, there was a term, and I thank you for letting me talk about Thanksgiving. There was a term and it's called Thanksgiving, In other words, the word Thanksgiving with an S on the N Thanksgiving and the colonists in New England and Canada. Even prior to the 1600s, particularly in the late 1500s, the colonists in New England and Canada, even when they crossed the ocean, they would do Thanksgiving for things such as they had safe travel mercies or maybe they had a military victory or an abundant harvest. They would sit down and call those Thanksgiving and they would celebrate with the festival. So, as those were done through the years, americans have modeled their Thanksgiving holiday on a 1621 harvest feast that was shared between the English colonists that landed in America and the Wampanoag tribe. Now, the Wampanoag tribe was a tribe comprised of about five or so local Indian tribes, but the term Thanksgiving really goes back even further than that. So that's what we're going to talk about today.
Speaker 1:
Oh boy. Now let me ask you this Since Thanksgiving wasn't really being celebrated nationally on a specific day and usually takes somebody in authority to make the national holiday, what president put to stand on making Thanksgiving a national holiday?
Speaker 2:
Well, there's several presidents that did throughout the years, but the first one, believe it or not to make any move toward that was President George Washington. He made a proclamation on October the 3rd in 1789 and he designated Thursday November 27th in 1789, as a national day of thanks. That's what he called it, a national day of thanks. And even though everyone had celebrated Thanksgiving after that for almost 200 years, again later, in 1863, on the same day, October the 3rd, during the midst of the Civil War so you can imagine how all that was President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it a national holiday. So Lincoln went a little further, but he named it Thanksgiving Day and it was to be held each November. Now, I don't know that there was a specific date at that point with Lincoln, but anyway, congress later approved the 4th Thursday of the month of November as it is to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, I gotcha.
Speaker 1:
Well, let me ask you one more question before we take our break. I would like to hear more about the long, hard journey of the pilgrims. What was it like traveling aboard the Mayflower? I remember that from school the Mayflower but do you have any idea how many people were on the Mayflower?
Speaker 2:
Yes, we do. I have had several people, throughout the research that I've done, say exactly the same amount of people. When the Mayflower left Plymouth England because that's where they left from on September 16, 20, they traveled by ship almost two months. I can't imagine being on a ship like that two months and of course it wouldn't have been anything like what we'd be on if we went on a cruise this year. But now but they crossed 3,000 miles of open ocean and there were about 102 people passengers on that ship. It included three women who were pregnant and more than a dozen children. Now everyone was squeezed. I can't imagine this, but they were squeezed below the deck in a crowded, cold and damp area and obviously there was no air conditioning. There was, and of course at that point it was September, they were going through the winter months, so it was very cold, very damp and there was a lot of crippling about the sea sickness, as you can imagine, and of course, diseases and people got sick.
Speaker 2:
So the passengers were an assortment of religious people, separate, just thinking a new home where they could really be free to practice their faith like they wanted to, and while other individuals were alert by the promise of prosperity and maybe having some new land in the new world. It was really a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that really lasted 66 days. So when they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, they really were a little bit farther north of where they intended to stop at and their destination was the mouth of the Hudson River. And it wasn't until about a month later on November the 11th 1621, that the Mayflower actually crossed what we know today as Massachusetts Bay, where the pilgrims, as they are commonly known, began the work of really establishing a village at Clemens. So the Puritans you may recognize that name too. The Puritans arrived soon after and brought with them a tradition of providential holidays. And what the providential holidays were days of fasting during difficult or pivotal moments, and then they had days of feasting, a celebration to thank God and times of planning.
Speaker 2:
So I'm sure you know I'm gonna talk about a quote that this particular person has, and I'm sure you know who he is Newt Gingrich. He a big in Georgia. For our listeners, newt is a former speaker of the house and he's a wonderful historian. I really trust that what he says is true, because he knows the stuff. Here's what Newt Gingrich said these pilgrims agreed on how this new settlement would be governed. Their historic covenant began and guess this in the name of God, amen. Today we know this agreement as the Mayflower Compact. I guess I kind of missed that in my history class and maybe they didn't go over it very well. But thank you, newt Gingrich, for that piece of information that. I really appreciate that. But the Mayflower Compact came out of that.
Speaker 1:
Well, boy, well, let's do this. Listeners, I know you would hear more about Newt Gingrich, because then on base, when we had Victor and Newt Gingrich finding a nice note to Sheila. But let's take a break and we'll be right back.
Speaker 3:
Toebookcom is the only way to go to manage all the vehicles you tow off the road. The number one platform in the industry, the cloud-based towing software, can handle all your needs. Ride from your phone with support day and night. Visit toebookcom and give it a try.
Speaker 4:
For over 50 years, jurdan has defined towing and recovery industry standards for performance, reliability and service. Jurdan offers an extensive range of light, medium and heavy-duty records carriers and rotators. Each truck offers superior engineering for strength and stability, reliability and versatility to exceed the expectations of a demanding industry.
Speaker 1:
Welcome back listeners Now. Before we took our break, I was a little confused. So you referred to the Puritans and the Pilgrims. Now, I thought the ship left Prymouth, england, with a group of pilgrims, that landed in Plymouth County with pilgrims. Where did these Puritans come to bother them?
Speaker 2:
Well, the many Americans think that the Pilgrims and the Puritans are the same person, that you're talking about, the same people. So I guess I need to briefly explain why we call them Pilgrims and Puritans. The Puritans did not come over on the Mayflower, with the original Pilgrims on the Mayflower. The Puritans came over later, sailing on another ship. So here's a difference between the two groups the Pilgrims and the Puritans.
Speaker 2:
The Pilgrims came to America for an opportunity to practice their own religion and they wanted to really build a new life for themselves and their family. So they had high aspirations of what they were going to find and hopefully they were going to be able to start a new life. Now the Puritans had another reason for coming to America they wanted to reform the belief of the Church of England. So they thought that there would need to be some changes and when they got to America, they wanted to—that's what their focus was and then they wanted to spread those new reforms that they changed across the rest of the world.
Speaker 2:
And many people, many Americans, think that the Pilgrims were kind of stuffy, unhappy, plain people who wore, you know, drab looking clothes, black hats, colored—squared collars and buckled shoes, and it was pictured—and we get that idea from a picture by Edward Winslow, and he did a portrait in 1651, and it shows—and I'm sure lots of us have seen it. You see the men and the women going on a hunt it looks like through the forest, and they're all wearing black and white. Okay, dressing in black. Kind of reminds me, though, dj, of our granddaughter Hailey. Did you remember Hailey's first grade Thanksgiving production?
Speaker 1:
Oh yeah, she was cute, but I think that was just like the second time she was performing. Hailey was dressed—I want to tell our listeners. Hailey was dressed in a long black dress when a white square collar and wore a white cap, like a nurses cap on her head. When it was her time—I get this, I'm the grandpa—when it's her time to speak to the microphone, hailey, she says her lines so fast. It shows she goes—it was also time to be thankful to people that we loved and picked things in our lives. And as you hurriedly run away from the microphone not like your grandpa, she certainly was dressed in bright color outfit either, shella, but her lines—it was so fast.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it was fast and it was so sweet. She wore that black and white, just as most of us think the Pilgrims wore, and she surely was a cute little pilgrim. But I must add that pilgrims really wore everything from green to red and orange. In fact, one of the little research things that I looked at it even said petticoats could have been even purple. But what they did is they limited their choices based on the natural dyes that they could find around. So whatever they could find is what the colors were of the clothing. So the Pilgrims really loved their colors as much as we do today. We see them as black and white.
Speaker 1:
I gotcha All right, so tell our listeners a little bit about what happened to the food rooms. Arrived at Plymouth, but I doubt they had good or warm place to live. What happened there?
Speaker 2:
Well, it was brutal that first winter. They obviously didn't. They arrived in September. They didn't have much time to plan for anything or create anything for them to live in, so basically they remained on board the ship where they eventually suffered from the winter exposure scurvy was bad and outbreak to the contagious diseases, but they, because they really couldn't build anything. So that's really what happened. So due to that, in those circumstances, about half of the Mayflower original passengers and the crew didn't live past that winter to even see their first New England spring. So but in March, when things started really warming up, the remaining settlers decided to move ashore and they were greeted and they were actually kind of shocked by a member who showed up. He was a member of a tribe, abinaki tribe, and I hope I'm saying that right and actually he greeted them in English and they were shocked about that. So that was pretty cool.
Speaker 1:
It was so that's the best. Take a break, listeners, and with that little note that'll keep you in suspense to come back and listen to the rest of the story, we'll take one final break and we'll come back to learn more surprises about the first Thanksgiving.
Speaker 4:
Recovery Billing Unlimited is an organization dedicated to teaching fellow toers how to become more profitable for the work they do. Recovery Billing Unlimited can teach you the proper tow business foundation, the proper way of writing acceptable recovery invoices, remediation of the accident scene to free you from future liability, and laws to help you get paid. These are just a few of the things covered when you attend a class from Recovery Billing Unlimited. For class or seminar information, visit RecoveryBillingUnlimitedcom.
Speaker 5:
Recovery-billion unlimited making towers more profitable Attention tow heroes, level up with TOWMATE's new XR-Series wireless tow lights, now supercharged with long-lasting lithium technology. Boost your truck's visibility with PowerLink 2-wire light bars and strobes. Maximize impact while minimizing installation. They utilize your existing wiring. And don't miss our life-savered cone-mounted warning lights, your first line of defense on the roadside. Illuminate your path at wwwtowmatecom. Slash dealers or dial 800-680-4455. Towmate Dependable, durable, dynamic.
Speaker 1:
TOWMATE, towmate.
Speaker 2:
Well, not quite. Several days later this particular native returned with another Native American, and that tribal member's name was Squanto. Squanto was actually a member of the Pawtuxet tribe and Squanto his background was he had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and he was sold into slavery before escaping to London. But he eventually, because there was an exploratory expedition that was going to take place back to America, he was able to get on that expedition and return to his homeland. So he had already been across the ocean and he'd come back.
Speaker 2:
So Squanto felt sorry for these pilgrims. They were weakened by malnutrition and illnesses and he felt like he needed to teach them how to cultivate corn. And so he went, he just did it. He taught them how to fill the ground with corn, how to get fat from a tree, how to catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants, because that was important. So he really helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag people, which was that local group of indigenous tribes. So over the next year they worked very hard to try to get a harvest done to provide food and housing. In November of this, in 1621, a year later, after the pilgrims first harvest proved to be successful, they're now Governor William Bradford. He organized the celebratory feast so he wanted to celebrate and he invited a bunch of the fledgling colonies, native American allies, including this Wampanoag chief, to eat with them. So that is the feast that we know now today as the first Thanksgiving, although the pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time. The festival lasted for days.
Speaker 1:
All right, let's do this. I want to know what happened during the First Thanksgiving. What, and the big question, what did they eat? Did they enjoy turkey and stuff and you pump can pie like we do?
Speaker 2:
Well, you might be a little disappointed. They did eat a little bit of that, but there really is no record of the exact First Thanksgiving menu. So much of what we know about the First Thanksgiving really comes from journals from people that were there, and one of them is that, edward Winslow, who did that one portrait. He was a pilgrim chronicler and here's what he, and I'm paraphrasing here what he said the governor sent four men to hunt for fowl for enough to last everyone, some 90 men, whom for three days we entertained with firearms, feasted and went out and killed five deer and maybe not always plentiful, it was enough for a week. It is not always so plentiful as it was currently with us, yet, by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.
Speaker 2:
So again, my friend Newt Gingrich says that the meal was chronicled by a, by pilgrim, william Bradford. Now he's the governor of this particular colony. Here's what Bradford said in his journal a great store of wild turkey which was shared between the pilgrims and the Native Americans who live in the Plymouth Rock area. It's not a lot of detail, but it does say that they probably came upon a group of turkeys and were able to get some of that. But, dj, this sounds more normal to us because of many of us sweet turkey at Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2:
But, however, other historians have suggested that some of the dishes that were served that day were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices, and so they would have used their own cooking methods as well, because, you know, really, the pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower sugar supply had already dwindled by the fall of 1621. So we doubt the meal featured any pies, cakes or desserts like we know today. And but one thing I will note I read in one of them that they also took in lobster, seal and swan. Now, I can't imagine the seals and swans, and I love lobster, but seal and swan, that wouldn't have been something I would have seen on my Thanksgiving table.
Speaker 1:
I got you. Well, since we're almost done, tell our listeners when did the first Thanksgiving become a national holiday?
Speaker 2:
In 1941, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, he signed the Thanksgiving holiday into law and since that autumn of 1621, this tremendous act of faith and thankfulness has been repeated by millions of people who've come to America to join and participate in our incredible experience experience in freedom and opportunity.
Speaker 1:
Now Chilla, the final part here. Your family always gave out a kernel of corn to each person at the Thanksgiving table. I would love you to share with our listeners that custom.
Speaker 2:
Well, I'm glad you brought that up.
Speaker 2:
Yes, my dad would pray and my mom would had already handed out probably two kernels of corn to everyone.
Speaker 2:
It depended on how she felt, I guess, or how much she had available, but anyway she would give everybody, usually two kernels of corn to each person sitting at the table, and as we place each kernel that we had on the table and we would go around the room, we would reveal what person or thing that we were most thankful for during that year, and sometimes there were tears and sometimes laughter and sometimes, but it set the mood for a really good meal of Thanksgiving, because we really owe it all to God anyway.
Speaker 2:
But Thanksgiving is a lot more than eating turkey or cranberries and pumpkin pie to the American people, and despite the challenges that we have today or even in the past, we remain blessed to live in the freest, the strongest and the most prosperous nation on earth and we have so much for which to be thankful for. We have our businesses, our employees, who help us throughout the year. So during this holiday season, DJ, I just want to stress to all the listeners to thank people your family, your friends, your coworkers, your business partners and clients for what all they do for us and DJ. I wish everyone a happy and blessed Thanksgiving, and don't burn the turkey.