![]() Library of Congress English separatists were rebranded as Pilgrims through the Thanksgiving origin myth. However, the real history of Thanksgiving remains largely in the shadows. While the celebration of a bountiful harvest wasn’t exactly a new concept, the tradition of practicing gratitude on Thanksgiving caught on and has persisted to this day. Both of these accounts were quite short - not much longer than a paragraph. The only other account was by Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford, who wrote about it in Of Plymouth Plantation - at least a decade after it happened. In an attached footnote, Young said: “This was the first Thanksgiving, the harvest festival of New England.” He mentioned Winslow’s story in his Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers. His account was rediscovered in the mid-19th century by a Philadelphia antiquarian named Alexander Young. The first account came from Edward Winslow, one of the founders of the Plymouth colony, who wrote about it in December 1621. Only two primary sources recount the first Thanksgiving feast - and they’re both from the settlers’ perspective. ![]() The surprising insignificance of the first Thanksgiving is reflected by how few historical accounts even mention it. And the holiday wasn’t made official until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared it as such. But this didn’t mean that all Americans knew about the “first” celebration.įlickr Commons The alliance between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe was born out of necessity, not kindness.Īccording to the Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the first Thanksgiving wasn’t even called the first Thanksgiving until the 1830s. ![]() Historians believe that George Washington was the first to declare a national day of Thanksgiving in 1789. Celebrating the harvest was common among both Native American and European societies - long before the so-called first Thanksgiving took place.Īnd Thanksgiving did not become an annual holiday right away. However, the concept of a “first Thanksgiving” itself remains questionable. This gathering would later become known as America’s first Thanksgiving. The festivities took place over three days, sometime between late September and mid-November in 1621. They were also able to have a successful fall harvest, which they marked with an elaborate celebration with the Wampanoag tribe. With assistance from the Native people, the Pilgrims were able to adjust to a new environment. The commonly told story about the first Thanksgiving paints it as a glorious feast that established a peaceful coexistence between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans.Īfter the Pilgrims arrived in modern-day Massachusetts in 1620, it’s believed that they received help from members of the Wampanoag tribe. Bettmann Archive via Getty Images Misleading illustrations of Thanksgiving helped to whitewash American history.
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