Today is Thanksgiving. If you are reading this, you are not eating, shopping or watching football. That is okay - I am writing it this morning over a strong cup of coffee. I wondered about the beginnings of Thanksgiving - not for the giving thanks part, but how the turkey was chosen as the sacrificial lamb, sort of speak. But first, let's do look at history based on Internet searches.
The first recorded celebration of Thanksgiving occurred on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and 600 settlers landed on the Florida peninsula and immediately give thanks to God for surviving their treacherous journey.
They were thankful there was no coast guard or other agencies that would immediately ship them back to Spain. Today, others still attempt to make the journey, mostly from Cuba, but these guys are not so lucky.
Here is the part where we are most familiar - and our children come home (or at least used to in a more conservative world) in paper hats, colorful head dresses and turkeys cut from the shapes of their little hands.
Turkey was introduced to the early Pilgrim settlers by the Native American Wampanoag tribe after the Pilgrims arrived in 1620. The first year for the settlers was bleak, with many dying from the journey. Their seeds, aside from barley, did not produce any usable crops. The Indians assisted the settlers, introducing them to native foods such as corn and squash and showed them how to hunt and fish. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 at the behest of Governor William Bradford, and the Native Americans were invited guests of honor.
We are not sure if the above account is entirely true, but it made it into the history books as fact. Here are two version.
The Jamestown Version:
About twenty miles north of Jamestown Virginia, colonists began a yearly autumn feast on December 4, 1620 in the small 8,000 acre hamlet of Berkeley Hundred. It was called a "day of thanksgiving" to God and was held each year to celebrate the day they first arrived in Virginia (1619).
In 1622 nine settlers from the Berkeley Hundred were killed along with one third of the whole Virginia colony. The local colonists fell back to Jamestown for protection. The site later became known as Berkeley Plantation, and was long known as the traditional home of the Harrison family, one of the First Families of Virginia. Residents continued to rejoice on their Thanksgiving day.
The Plymouth Mass version:
Besides turkey, the original Pilgrim celebrants ate lobster, fish, clams and eels. The Plymouth Massachusetts Thanksgiving is associated with an end to collectivism and an Indian named Squanto (or Tisquantum).
In 1605 an English Captain named George Weymouth captured Indians to send them back to England for slavery. Squanto, one of those slaves, learned English and was later released from his indenture.
In 1912 Squanto returned to North America with Captain John Smith to find his whole village wiped out by disease. Later he taught the Pilgrims how to fish and harvest crops.
Early inhabitants of the Massachusetts colony experienced harsh winters and near starvation. In 1621, Governor William Bradford founded Plymouth along with other Pilgrims. They were not Puritans and they did not call themselves Pilgrims at the time. They called themselves “Saints” after fleeing religious persecution in England.
Initially Bradford tried communal living where everyone worked together (basic communism). By 1623 they were near starvation and something had to be done. The governor reported in his diary that the community became lazy because of the collectivist mentality. Many died and their numbers dwindled to below 150 inhabitants by spring 1623.
Bradford decided to divide the land up and allow individuals to fend for themselves. The Pilgrims began to plant early and work hard. The surviving Pilgrims had a bountiful harvest and a Thanksgiving was celebrated on August 9th.
Seafood was not the Thanksgiving meal of choice. Some were allergic, others were still seasick from the journey a few years back... Since cattle weren't being herded from ranches to the stockyards yet, our forefathers settled on the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopa) which is native to North America and was
a staple in the Native American diet.
It was imported to Europe in the
early part of the 16th century by the Spaniards via Turkey (the
country.) It was confused in those early times with the Guinea fowl
which also arrived via Turkey, and both birds were called turkeys in
those days. When it was assigned its Latin name in the 18th century,
the name turkey still stuck. Native Americans called it peru with no
reference to the country of the same name.
Thanksgiving became an official holiday in the United States on October 3, 1863 via proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln. The proclamation declared the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. By 1916, Thanksgiving was referred to in writings as Turkey Day due to the popularity of the bird at the traditional feast.
Interestingly enough, in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to move the official Thanksgiving date to earlier in November in order encourage a longer Christmas shopping season as a Depression recovery strategy. His idea was shut down by Congress, and the official date was declared permanently as the fourth Thursday in November via Public Law #379. If he only knew we now fill the Walmart shelves with Christmas items just after Labor Day....
The popularity of wild turkeys nearly wiped them out. The federal government stepped in with protection in 1991, and they are now found in 49 states. Turkey was most-associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas, making winter the prime season for turkey farmers. In 1935, the per capita consumption of turkey was only 1.7 pounds.
Today, turkey has been recognized as a lean substitute for red meat. Aggressive marketing by turkey farmers by advertising and availability of parts rather than the necessity of cooking a whole bird has increased consumption to 20 pounds per person per year, with 74 percent of the consumption being in sliced turkey sandwiches.
It is also great for naps just after the football games. If you made it through this post, you deserve one. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
