Why Did The Pilgrims Celebrate The First Thanksgiving?

Oct, 03 2022
Posted by Green Shop
Lifestyle
Why Did The Pilgrims Celebrate The First Thanksgiving? As part of their religion, the English colonists we call Pilgrims, held days of thanksgiving. But these were not feast days; they were days of prayer. In November 1621, the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians got together at Plymouth to celebrate the fall harvest. This is often called the "first Thanksgiving" in America.
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    Why Did The Pilgrims Celebrate The First Thanksgiving? As part of their religion, the English colonists we call Pilgrims, held days of thanksgiving. But these were not feast days; they were days of prayer. In November 1621, the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians got together at Plymouth to celebrate the fall harvest. This is often called the "first Thanksgiving" in America.

    What Is The First Thanksgiving?

    Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. Outside the US, it is sometimes called "American Thanksgiving" to set it apart from the same-named Canadian holiday and similar events in other parts of the world. It started out as a day of giving thanks and a harvest festival. The holiday theme is still giving thanks, and Thanksgiving dinner is still the most important part of the holiday. Traditional Thanksgiving dishes include turkey, potatoes (usually mashed or sweet), stuffing, squash, corn (maize), green beans, cranberries (usually in a sauce), and pumpkin pie. Other Thanksgiving traditions include charities giving Thanksgiving dinners to the poor, going to church, watching parades, and watching football games. Thanksgiving is seen as the start of the holiday season in the United States, which includes Christmas and the New Year.

    Colonial people in New England and Virginia used to have days of fasting and days of thanksgiving. On thanksgiving days, they would thank God for things like harvests, ship landings, military victories, or the end of a drought. These were celebrated by going to church services, having feasts, and getting together with other people. In October 1621, after the Pilgrims had their first harvest in the New World, they held what Americans call the "First Thanksgiving." This feast went on for three days, and 90 Wampanoag people and 53 Pilgrims were there.

    When Did Thanksgiving Start?

    In November 1621, the first Thanksgiving was held. Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians got together for a party to eat, feast, and get married. The Native Americans and the Pilgrims ate a meal together. The year before, more than 100 people came over from England on the Mayflower ship.

    After 66 days, the Pilgrims arrived at Cape Cod. They had left their home to find a place where they could practice their religion freely. They had to go through a terrible winter, during which scurvy and other diseases killed half of the settlers. Indian tribe members came to see the Pilgrims while they were building what is now New England. They offered to teach them how to farm and live off the land.

    The Native Americans also helped the Pilgrims make a deal with the Wampanoag tribe.

    After the first corn harvest went well, the Pilgrims thanked the natives by throwing a big party, which is now known as Thanksgiving.

    Turkey got on the menu more or less by accident. Edward Winslow, a Pilgrim historian, said that the colony's leader, William Bradford, sent out a group of men to get as much food as they could for the three-day event. They are thought to have brought back ducks, geese, and swans, among other birds. On the menu was also deer. But Turkey is thought to have stayed the most popular dish because there were so many to hunt.

    Thanksgiving didn't become an official holiday until 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln said it would be held every November. This was during the Civil War. In 1817, New York was one of the first states to make the holiday official. For a long time, only the south knew about it. Eventually, though, other states joined the party.

    The holiday became more and more popular and is now one of the biggest of the year, right up there with Christmas, Easter, and Halloween.

    When Did Thanksgiving Become A National Holiday?

    The harvest festival at Plymouth was a one-time thing, and it wasn't made a national holiday until 1863 when President Lincoln did so.

    Even though the first Thanksgiving was different from the one we have now, there are still many ideas about how to celebrate. Some people see it as a celebration of coming together in a hard place, while others see it as a reminder of how badly our country has treated Indigenous people in the past. Wherever you land, remember that both the colonists and the Wampanoag have a long history of celebrating harvests and giving thanks to God, the earth, or whoever they worshipped for the food they had grown that would hopefully last them through the winter. The spirit of the first Thanksgiving can be seen in how people count their blessings, no matter how small.

    Who Was There the First Year?

    At the first Thanksgiving, there were probably more than twice as many Native Americans as colonists. Winslow writes, "Many of the Indians are coming to live with us, including their greatest king Massasoit and about ninety of his men." The colonists had a hard time during the winter before. Seventy-eight percent of the women who came on the Mayflower died that winter, so only about 50 people were left to celebrate the first Thanksgiving. Eyewitnesses say that there were 22 men, only four women, and more than 25 kids and teens among the pilgrims.

    Thanksgiving Traditions and Practices

    In many American families, the celebration of Thanksgiving has lost much of its original religious importance; it instead focuses on preparing and enjoying a big dinner with family and friends. The Pilgrims may or may not have served turkey at the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621, despite the fact that the bird has grown so common that it is virtually associated with the celebration.

    Today, however, approximately 90 percent of Americans consume turkey on Thanksgiving, whether roasted, baked, or deep-fried, as reported by the National Turkey Federation. Also included are stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Common Thanksgiving Day activities include volunteering, as well as food drives and free feasts for the less fortunate.

    In cities around the United States, parades have also become an essential component of the celebration. Presented by Macy's department store in 1924, New York City's Thanksgiving Day parade is the largest and most well-known, gathering between 2 and 3 million people along its 2.5-mile route and massive television viewership. It often includes marching bands, musicians, extravagant floats carrying various celebrities, and enormous balloons in the style of cartoon characters.

    Beginning about the middle of the 20th century, and maybe even earlier, the president of the United States has annually "pardoned" one or two Thanksgiving turkeys, sparing them from slaughter and retiring them on a farm. A number of governors in the United States also pardon turkeys annually.

    What To Wear On The First Thanksgiving?

    Happy Fall Y'All Pumpkin Pickup Truck Cat Kitty Thanksgiving T-Shirt

    Thanksgiving Turkey Happy Thanksgiving Day T-Shirt

    Disney Thanksgiving Day Mickey Minnie Thankful Family Matching T-Shirt

    Love Nurse Life Turkey Thanksgiving Day Love Nurse Life Turkey Funny Nursing Thanksgiving Day Gifts Mugs

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