The Historical Thanksgiving

The real historical Thanksgiving of 1621 was not a sentimental harvest festival but a fragile moment of diplomacy between two peoples facing fear, loss, and uncertainty. After a devastating winter that claimed half the Pilgrims’ community, and following an epidemic that had wiped out much of the Wampanoag population, both groups found themselves in desperate need of allies. When the Pilgrims fired celebratory guns during their successful harvest, Massasoit and ninety Wampanoag men arrived prepared for possible conflict, only to discover it was a feast in progress. What followed was a cautious but genuine three-day gathering centered on food, negotiation, and the renewal of a mutual defense treaty that would hold for nearly fifty years. Far from a simple tale of harmony, the first Thanksgiving was a complex meeting shaped by hardship, diplomacy, and the human desire for peace in a dangerous world.

Dr. Fred Clary, founder of Functional Analysis Chiropractic Technique and lifting/life coach/ gym-chalk covered philosopher talks about a little history.