Little Egypt Heritage Articles Stories of Southern Illinois © Bill Oliver 25 November 2004 Vol 3 Issue: #35, Thanksgiving Special Edition ISBN: pending Osiyo, Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of Little Egypt, Tradition may or nor have a relationship to fact. From childhood Thanksgiving was celebrated with school pageants and huge dinners. The picture of the first Thanksgiving with Pilgrims in Puritan costume and Native American in loin cloth and buckskin. The dinner table was set up outside in the cold snow with white linen tablecloths. In pictures of the event, food set upon the table was bounty indeed – ham, turkey, corn on the cob, yams and sweet potatoes, pumpkin pies, cranberry sauce, etc. This morning’s newspaper carried a picture of a person playing a pilgrim preparing “the sausage” for stuffing at Plymouth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachuesetts. The Plantation is a living history museum that depicts life in the early 17th century settlement. Well, this tradition of the Pilgrims first Thanksgiving is heaped full of legend and myth. There are actually two accounts of a fall feast in October of 1621. The first is by Edward Winslow dated December 12, 1621 and the other was in William Bradford’s “History of Plymouth Plantation” written about 1641, or twenty years after the first celebration. This second account was taken by British looters during the Revolutionary War and rediscovered in 1854. Its discovery prompted Abraham Lincoln to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. The first account mentions Indian corn and barley, and a failed pea crop. The governor decreed that there should be a gathering to give thanks for the harvest. He sent four hunters out for “fowling”. Enough was gathered to “serve the company almost a week”. The Indian king Massasoit and ninety braves were invited and they brought venison. The feast lasted for three days. Bradford’s account adds fist and wild turkey to the menu. This was the first mention of the almost “national bird”. (You recall that Benjamin Franklin wanted it named so.) The bountiful menu could have included fish such as cod, bass, herring and bluefish. Eel was plentiful. Other sea foods included clams, lobster, mussels, and maybe some oysters. There was waterfowl. The possibilities included wild turkey, duck, swan, goose, and crane. Also, there were partridges. In 1823, Edward Winslow mentioned eagle as tasting like mutton. Other meat was probably limited to deer. Pumpkins and squashes were available, and eventually peas and beans. Fruits, such as, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, gooseberries, cherries, grapes, and plums were out of season, but probably there as dried fruits. There were walnuts, chestnuts, hickory nuts, and acorns available. Maple syrup and honey were available, as well as cheese and eggs. Missing items included ham. There is no mention of pigs in the Plantation and the Pilgrims probably didn’t bring them on board the Mayflower. It is doubtful that there was cranberry sauce, for there was no sugar available. Pumpkin pudding is likely, much like our pie filling today. However, there would have been no crust, as corn was ground into cornmeal. Indian corn doesn’t make good corn on the cob, nor does it pop well, thus, there would not be those items on the table. Any type of potato had not yet been introduced on the continent. Well, the first Thanksgiving celebration was in October 1821, followed in two years with another day to give thanks. This second one was not for a bountiful harvest but thanks for the end of a drought. Native Americans were invited to this second Thanksgiving feast also. A gathering for Thanksgiving wasn’t celebrated again until 1676 on June 29. Then a century and a year later, the Thirteen Colonies did join in a Thanksgiving celebration. It was a one time affair and only to commemorate victory at Saratoga. In 1789, George Washington, the Father of His County, proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving. It was met with much resistence. Not again was a national day of Thanksgiving proclaimed until President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a National Thanksgiving Day celebration. Every President following him proclaimed a National Holiday of Thanksgiving, until in 1941, the Congress of the United States made it a legal holiday to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. As you, your family and friends gather this Thanksgiving Day, may you enjoy good companionship. With this issue, I welcome my Grandson, Blake, to the list of readers. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all! e-la-di-e-das-di ha-wi nv-wa-do-hi-ya nv-wa-to-hi-ya-da. (May you walk in peace and harmony) Wado, Bill -=- PostScript: = = = = http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SOIL http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/ILMASSAC http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/state/BillsArticles/LittleEgypt/intro.html