Thanksgiving is a holiday where we love to eat turkey and meet up with family. It all started in the year 1620. The ship named “Mayflower” set sail with 102 passengers from Plymouth, England. Their goal was to establish a new colony in the so-called “New World”. Their treacherous journey lasted 66 days. Their first year on the new land was a harsh winter when many people passed away. There were outbreaks of many diseases such as scurvy. But the next year, their fortunes changed. They had a successful harvest. They were able to have a good harvest because the local Native American Pawtuxet tribe helped them out. They had learned how to cultivate corn, how to figure out which berries and plants were poisonous, and of course, they learned many other things. This was all thanks to the tribe leader named Squanto. He had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and he was thrown into the horrors of slavery. Soon enough he escaped the horrors of English slavery by escaping to London and then reuniting with his tribe in his homeland.
Since the harvest was successful, Governor William Bradford decided to celebrate it by inviting the local tribe to a feast and to thank them for their great help. Hence the name “Thanksgiving”. The occasion was set to last 3 days. The Governor sent 4 men on a “fowling mission” to catch game for the people to feast on. There is actually no exact record of the food served at the first Thanksgiving. We know for sure that they had vegetables, fowl of some sort and deer.
The year when Thanksgiving was announced as a national holiday was 1789. As described by History.com, “George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States; in it, he called upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country’s war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution.”
Well, now you know why there is a turkey sitting on your table, ready to be devoured by you and your family. To know truly where something comes from, you have to dig deep and find the roots. But other times, you may never actually find an answer or a reason no matter how far you go. Have a great Thanksgiving!!!
