Thanksgiving

These quotes from the Plimouth Plantation web site are helpful as we might seek to honor the history of Thanksgiving more than the convenient national holiday it has become for most of us.

Although the gathering which took place between the English colonists and the Wampanoag in the autumn of 1621 in Patuxet/New Plymouth has become known as "The First Thanksgiving," it would not have been considered a thanksgiving by the people involved. Not only was it not a "thanksgiving," but also it was also not a "first!" Native Peoples all over this continent have given daily thanks to their Creator for thousands of years. Likewise, celebrating days of thanksgiving was a familiar tradition for the Europeans who eventually colonized North America.

There are many other aspects of the Thanksgiving holiday as it is celebrated today that are based on misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the 1621 event. From the one long banquet table, to the turkey and cranberry sauce on top of it, the exhibit Thanksgiving: Memory, Myth & Meaning examines popular images and myths of Thanksgiving in greater depth and from multiple perspectives. We encourage you to spend some time there.

Visit Plimouth Plantation and First Nation web sites for more detail