Thanksgiving

Note: Underlined words have definitions at the end of this article provided by The Basic Newbury House Dictionary. Definitions with an asterisk (*) are supplied by the author, Bill Perry.

Thanksgiving is a holiday to thank God for his blessings. It is the oldest American holiday and has a very long tradition behind it. It started as a religious holiday, but it has become less religious in modern times. Many Americans know little about the beginning of Thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims

The story of Thanksgiving begins with the Pilgrims. They were a group of Christians who lived in England in the 1500’s. The word pilgrim means “foreigner, alien or wanderer.” They wanted to worship God freely and follow teachings from the Bible. They believed their lives on earth were a journey until they died and went to heaven. Worshipping God was an important part of their journey.

A new law in England in 1534 made the king the new religious leader in that country. This law required everyone to be a member of the new Church of England, even if they didn’t want to be a church member. Many English people did not agree with this law.

The Pilgrims did not agree about how they should respond to this law. Some wanted to stay in the Church of England and make it better. They were called Puritans. This word means, “purify or clean.” Others wanted to leave the church, so they were called “Separatists.” The Separatists continued to call themselves “Pilgrims,” and that is what they are still called today. Puritans and Pilgrims both believed in God and the Bible. There were fewer than 1,000 Pilgrims and many more Puritans.

Pilgrims stopped going to worship services in churches. Instead they had Bible studies in their homes. The king said these meetings at home were against the law. English soldiers put Pilgrims in jail and treated them badly. Many of them were afraid

and wanted to leave England. In 1607 many went to Leyden (pronounced LIE den), a small city in Holland. Then in 1618 King James I said that all Pilgrims in England must either obey the church or leave the country. Most of them quickly left.

Leyden, Holland

The Pilgrims were honest, hardworking people. In Leyden they already had the freedom to worship as they chose. But they had two big problems. First, they were poor internationals who made very little money. Second, they wanted to worship in their native language, English. Their children were forgetting English and learning to speak Dutch, the language in Holland. These problems caused them to think that God wanted them to sail to America to start a new life. Then they could speak English and worship God freely in a new land. They borrowed money from a trading company and prepared two ships that would take them to America – the Speedwell, and the now famous Mayflower.

The Pilgrims got on the Speedwell and began sailing on July 22, 1620 for the city of Southampton to join those on the Mayflower. This ship had almost 80 people on it. Most of these “strangers” did not care about the Pilgrims. They were going to America to find riches in North America. Both ships sailed together on August 5^th, but water leaked into the Speedwell. This forced them to go back to Plymouth. After they found more leaks, they sold the Speedwell and squeezed as many people and supplies as possible into the Mayflower. Finally, 102 men, women and children began sailing again.

Sailing Across the Atlantic

In the middle of the Atlantic, a very bad storm almost sank the ship, but they kept going. On November 9^th, someone saw land and cried, “Land, ho!” They discovered that the storm blew them north to Cape Cod, part of Massachusetts. This was over 100 miles north of Virginia where they had planned to go. If they stayed in Cape Cod, they would be free from the New England Company because it controlled business in Virginia, but not in Massachusetts. They decided the storm was God’s way of directing them to a new place. So they stayed in Massachusetts and wrote the Mayflower Compact, a plan for their government. The Pilgrims wrote four reasons why they came to America. Each reason is followed by the words they wrote in the Compact.

1. To take Christianity to new areas: “Having [begun], for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian Faith . . .”

2. To build a new home in the New World: “. . . to plant the first colony in the northern parts . . .”

3. To make a united form of government: “combine ourselves together into a civil body politic”

4. To make only the laws that are good for everyone: “ . . . make such just and

equal laws . . . for the general good.”

The Pilgrims found land for farming that was already cleared of rocks and trees. Four freshwater creeks provided water nearby. They named their colony Plymouth because they received help from Christians back in Plymouth, England. They lived in the Mayflower until they built their homes. On January 14^th, a fire on the roof of the Common House (where they held meetings) almost killed everyone. From December, 1620 through March, 1621 forty-seven died of disease, including 13 of the 18 wives. Even though almost half of them died, those still living were grateful to be alive.

Getting to Know the Natives Plymouth

In the middle of March, 1621 a Native American walked into the Common House. The Pilgrims were having a class about protecting themselves. “Welcome!” he said in perfect English. He then asked them for something to eat. They gave him only English food they brought from England and he enjoyed it all. After eating, he told them his name was Samoset. He was from a northern tribe and loved to travel. He learned English from traveling with English sea captains. He told them that the land the Pilgrims settled on belonged to the Patuxet Indians. An unknown illness had killed all the Patuxets four years before the Pilgrims arrived.

Samoset returned one week later with another native who also spoke English. His name was Squanto. He was a Patuxet! Squanto’s story is interesting. In 1605 Englishmen caught him and four other Patuxets and took them back to England. They learned to speak English there. Then he returned to his homeland 9 years later. A short time later another English sea captain forced him to go back to Spain and sold him as a slave. Some Christians bought him and taught him about the Christian faith. Then they set him free. Squanto slowly got back to England. He finally returned to America in 1619, one year before the Pilgrims traveled to America. Six months before the Pilgrims landed, he learned that his entire tribe was dead. Therefore, he lived with another native tribe.

Massasoit, the most important native leader in that area, came to meet the Pilgrims. Samoset was an interpreter so they could talk to each other. The two groups agreed not to fight each other for forty years. They promised to help each other in many ways. They celebrated their friendship by making speeches and giving gifts.

A Feast

Later the Pilgrims chose a day for public thanksgiving to God to be held in October. They invited Chief Massasoit. He arrived one day early with 90 other natives! But they brought with them 5 deer, more than 12 fat, wild turkeys (all killed and ready to cook), and eight different types of vegetables. The Indian women taught the Pilgrim wives how to make many native foods like fruit pies, maple syrup and popcorn! When they were not eating, they played different games and sporting contests. The celebration went so well, they continued the feast for 3 more days!

Date of the Holiday

Over the years, Thanksgiving celebrations spread throughout areas of the United States. America’s first president, George Washington, said in 1789,

I . . . [make] Thursday, the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious [God], Who is the . . . . Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in . . . humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country . . .

In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln said the national holiday should be on the last Thursday in November. Finally in 1941, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president, Thanksgiving was declared to be on the fourth Thursday of November.

Modern Celebrations

Much of the food cooked for modern Thanksgiving dinners includes items from the very first celebration – turkey, ham, dressing, potatoes with gravy, and many other vegetables, bread and pies for dessert. The first meal was held to thank God for protection and providing enough food for the winter.

Many families put a horn of plenty on their dining tables. It is also called a cornucopia, which means “abundance.” The very first cornucopia was a curved goat’s horn laid on the table filled with fruit and grain. Modern cornucopias are often made of plastic or straw like a basket and filled with fruit or vegetables.

Parades also are a part of American Thanksgiving celebration. They began in the late 1800’s. Modern “Turkey Day” parades include a number of popular media stars, marching bands, floats and large helium balloons. Floats and balloon figures provide family entertainment for the crowds and TV viewers. Santa Claus sits on the last float of the Thanksgiving parade. He is the favorite, nonreligious symbol of Christmas and gifts [see Christmas]. When Santa arrives, the Christmas shopping season officially begins. The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year.

Most modern Thanksgiving celebrating is centered on the family. This began in the 1800’s. Relatives often travel great distances to celebrate together. Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest travel time of the whole year in the US.

Many American churches have special Thanksgiving services when people remember God’s goodness, especially family and friends. As television became popular, football became a regular part of Thanksgiving for many families. But the sporting events at the first Thanksgiving and football games on TV today are not related. Thanksgiving remains a special holiday when people enjoy God’s blessings.

Vocabulary

blessings (noun) – an act of making something holy.

colony (noun) – a group of people who have moved to another area, but are still governed by their home country.

dressing (noun) – stuffing cooked with chicken, fish, etc.

float (noun) – a colorful display set on wheels in a parade.

*helium (noun) – a gas, like air but lighter than air, that makes things like balloons float upwards.

*horn of plenty (noun) – during harvest season, a table decoration in the shape of a horn that usually has fruit or vegetables inside.

interpreter (noun) – a person who expresses the meaning of words in one language in another language.

*Native American (noun) – American Indian.

parade (noun) – an orderly movement of people in colorful or formal dress or uniforms, usually to show pride or to honor a special day or event.

*Puritans (noun) – people living in 16th Century England who wanted to purify, or correct, the Church of England instead of leaving the church.

relatives (noun) – persons connected by blood or marriage to someone.

*Separatist (noun) – a person living in 16^th Century England who thought the Church of England could not be corrected, and wanted to separate, or leave, the church.

squeeze (verb) – to press from two or more sides.

syrup (noun) – a thick, sweet liquid made from sugar cane, maple sugar, or other natural sugars.

tribe (noun) – a group of people with common customs and ancestry.

*Turkey Day (noun) – an informal name for Thanksgiving.

©Bill Perry. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.