Thanksgiving
You have probably heard a lot about “The First Thanksgiving.”
You may be surprised to learn that the day we call “The First
Thanksgiving” today was not really a “thanksgiving”
at all to the people who were there!The history of Thanksgiving goes much further back than Plymouth and 1621. In fact, people across the world from every culture have been celebrating and giving thanks for thousands of years. In this country, long before English colonists arrived, Native People celebrated many different days of thanksgiving. “Strawberry Thanksgiving” and “Green Corn Thanksgiving” are just two of kinds of celebrations for the Wampanoag and other Native People.
In 1621, the English colonists at Plymouth (some people call them “Pilgrims” today) had a three-day feast to celebrate their first harvest. More than 90 native Wampanoag People joined the 50 English colonists in the festivities. Historians dont know for sure why the Wampanoag joined the gathering or what activities went on for those three days. Form the one short paragraph that was written about the celebration at the time, we know that they ate, drank, and played games. Back in England, English people celebrated the harvest by feasting and playing games in much the same way.
The English did not call the 1621 event a “thanksgiving.” A day of “thanksgiving” was very different for the colonists. It was a day of prayer to thank God when something really good happened. The English actually had their first thanksgiving in the summer of 1623. On this day they gave thanks for the rain that ended a long drought.
There are a lot of other things you might be wondering about the harvest celebration of 1621, like:
-
Did the Wampanoag and English children play together?
-
What did they eat?
-
Were the Wampanoag and the English people friends?
-
What work did children do to help prepare a three-day celebration?
To learn the answers to these questions, visit our interactive on-line learning center; You are the Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving.
Homework Help
WHO WERE THE PILGRIMS
Did you know that the "Pilgrims" weren't really pilgrims at all?
WHO ARE THE WAMPANOAG
Learn more about the "People of the First Light."
THE MAYFLOWER
Discover more about the ship, the people, and the journey.
THANKSGIVING
The history goes much further back than Plymouth and 1621.
GROWING FOOD
What it meant to the Wampanoag and the English Colonists.
BUILDING A HOME
Two very different approaches to building a home.
WHAT TO WEAR
Articles on Wampanoag and Colonial clothing.
PLAYING AND LEARNING
Through games we still play today, important skills were developed.
WHAT'S FOR DINNIER
What the Colonists and Wampanoag thought fit to eat and drink.
ANIMALS
The Wampanoag and Colonial views on animals and their purpose.
A CHILD'S ROLE
The important place of children in both cultures.
SARAH MORTON
There were many other days in her life than in the book Sarah Morton's Day.
VOCABULARY WORDS
Definitions to common words and terms used in 17th-Century Plymouth.
