What is Thanksgiving Day?

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Possibly the first European Thanksgiving service on this continent was hosted by Spanish colonists in what is now Florida. According to the National Park Service, “On September 8, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (pictured above and 800 Spanish settlers founded the city of St. Augustine in Spanish La Florida. As soon as they were ashore, the landing party celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving. Afterward, Menéndez laid out a meal to which he invited as guests the native Seloy tribe who occupied the site.”

A decade later, another European Thanksgiving was recorded in North America on May 27, 1578, when English explorer Martin Frobisher and about 400 men finally landed safely in what is now Newfoundland, Canada, in their quest to find the Northwest Passage.

For British New England, some historians believe that the Popham Colony in what is now Maine conducted a Thanksgiving service in 1607. [The colony was abandoned a year later and has been overlooked as a predecessor to Plymouth in the New England region]. Also in 1607, British colonists in Jamestown, Virginia, gave thanks for their safe arrival that year, and held another service three years later when a supply ship arrived after a harsh winter.

Other early Virginia colonists known as the “Berkeley Hundred” settlers held a Thanksgiving service in accordance with their colonial charter, which stated that the day of their arrival in 1619 “shall be yearly and perputualy keept [sic] holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty god.” Unfortunately, anger and distrust between European colonists and indigenous people led to violence—all of the Berkeley Hundred settlers were killed during a massacre in 1622.

The Pilgrims were not the first Europeans with whom the Wampanoag had contact, and some tribe members already spoke English. Tribal leaders were wary of the English but nevertheless formed an alliance with the colonists for strategic purposes. They also shared knowledge about hunting and planting that saved the Pilgrims from starvation and made the 1621 harvest celebration possible.

The First Thanksgiving story emphasizes a peaceful exchange between the Pilgrims and Wampanoag yet seldom includes a Native American perspective. It also rarely acknowledges that peace was short-lived. Within a generation, war would erupt and the Wampanoag would ultimately lose their political independence and much of their territory. This is one of the reasons why Thanksgiving for some Native Americans is not a celebration but a painful reminder of the devastating impact of European colonization on Indigenous people. This poem attributed to Allan Cayous (Apache/Cahuilla) conveys his personal feelings about how Native Americans are perceived and treated in the United States.

Thanksgiving today may have little connection with the Plymouth harvest festival 400 years ago, but it has a long history nevertheless. Originally a regional observance in colonial New England, Thanksgiving began as a solemn affair. Rather than a day of feasting, it was a day for fasting and quiet reflection.

Thanksgiving Day, annual national holiday in the United States and Canada celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. Americans generally believe that their Thanksgiving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people. The American holiday is particularly rich in legend and symbolism, and the traditional fare of the Thanksgiving meal typically includes turkey, bread stuffing, potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. With respect to vehicular travel, the holiday is often the busiest of the year, as family members gather with one another.

Plymouth’s Thanksgiving began with a few colonists going out “fowling,” possibly for turkeys but more probably for the easier prey of geese and ducks, since they “in one day killed as much as…served the company almost a week.” Next, 90 or so Wampanoag made a surprise appearance at the settlement’s gate, doubtlessly unnerving the 50 or so colonists. Nevertheless, over the next few days the two groups socialized without incident. The Wampanoag contributed venison to the feast, which included the fowl and probably fish, eels, shellfish, stews, vegetables, and beer. Since Plymouth had few buildings and manufactured goods, most people ate outside while sitting on the ground or on barrels with plates on their laps. The men fired guns, ran races, and drank liquor, struggling to speak in broken English and Wampanoag. This was a rather disorderly affair, but it sealed a treaty between the two groups that lasted until King Philip’s War (1675–76), in which hundreds of colonists and thousands of Native Americans lost their lives.

On October 3, 1789, George Washington signed the first Thanksgiving Proclamation of the newly constituted American Republic. He called upon the American people to enjoy “a day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.”

The Early Days of Giving Thanks

It had been a long and difficult road to Independence, and America was still reeling from the failed Articles of Confederation and the fight to adopt the new Constitution. Washington had seen the struggle first-hand, and he knew, perhaps more than anyone, that America was nothing less than a series of miracles. And he saw to it that the nation gave thanks.

This was not the first celebration of Thanksgiving in America; the Pilgrims’ 1621 celebration with the Wampanoag in Plymouth holds that honor. Nor was this even Washington’s first Thanksgiving; he had proclaimed a Thanksgiving in December 1777 in the wake of the Continental Army’s victory over the British at Saratoga. This was, though, the first Thanksgiving of the American Republic. It was the first national Thanksgiving.

Washington went on to declare another observance in 1795, and his successor, John Adams, followed suit in 1798 and 1799. But as America’s position in the world was steadily established, and as the debate on the separation of church and state began to take shape, Thanksgiving was all but forgotten on the national stage.

The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “Thanksgivings,” days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. The U.S. Continental Congress proclaimed a national Thanksgiving upon the enactment of the Constitution, for example. Yet, after 1798, the new U.S. Congress left Thanksgiving declarations to the states; some objected to the national government’s involvement in a religious observance, Southerners were slow to adopt a New England custom, and others took offense over the day’s being used to hold partisan speeches and parades. A national Thanksgiving Day seemed more like a lightning rod for controversy than a unifying force.

A condition of peace and plenty resulted not in a grateful America but in a complacent one. The War of 1812, though, reminded Americans that their collective place in the world was more tenuous than they had realized. And at the close of the war in 1814 James Madison proclaimed “a day of public humiliation and fasting and of prayer to Almighty God for the safety and welfare” of the United States. Madison declared another Thanksgiving in 1815.

Eventually the states and the federal government proclaimed days of thanksgiving at irregular intervals, but it wasn’t until the mid-19th century, after decades of lobbying by magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale, that a national Thanksgiving holiday began to be established. As the holiday took root in the United States, so did the need for a distinctly American origin story, and the harvest festival two centuries earlier was remade as the “First Thanksgiving.” While Thanksgiving continues to evolve as each generation of Americans brings new meaning to the day and how it’s celebrated, the tradition of coming together to share a meal and reflect on all that we’re grateful for endures.

And then nearly half a century passed.

Once again things were calm, and once again national Thanksgiving observances fell by the wayside. The Founding Generation, America’s finest generation, had passed, and with them the possibility of a national gratefulness seemed to pass as well. Just as the War of 1812 had reminded the nation of its precariousness, though, the Civil War shattered the illusion of American harmony. Abraham Lincoln had warned the nation in 1858 that “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” and by 1863 the divided country was indeed in danger of falling.

Americans turned to Lincoln, and Lincoln turned to God. Even in the midst of the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil, Lincoln saw America’s blessings. “The year that is drawing toward its close,” he said, “has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.”

At America’s lowest ebb, the nation’s most dedicated servant chose to give thanks rather than bemoan his own, and America’s collective, lot, and there were indeed reasons to be thankful. As Lincoln said,

Peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.”

Thanksgiving Day did not become an official holiday until Northerners dominated the federal government. While sectional tensions prevailed in the mid-19th century, the editor of the popular magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book, Sarah Josepha Hale, campaigned for a national Thanksgiving Day to promote unity. She finally won the support of President Abraham Lincoln. On October 3, 1863, during the Civil War, Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26.

The holiday was annually proclaimed by every president thereafter, and the date chosen, with few exceptions, was the last Thursday in November. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, however, attempted to extend the Christmas shopping season, which generally begins with the Thanksgiving holiday, and to boost the economy by moving the date back a week, to the third week in November. But not all states complied, and, after a joint resolution of Congress in 1941, Roosevelt issued a proclamation in 1942 designating the fourth Thursday in November (which is not always the last Thursday) as Thanksgiving Day.

As the country became more urban and family members began to live farther apart, Thanksgiving became a time to gather together. The holiday moved away from its religious roots to allow immigrants of every background to participate in a common tradition. Thanksgiving Day football games, beginning with Yale versus Princeton in 1876, enabled fans to add some rowdiness to the holiday. In the late 1800s parades of costumed revelers became common. In 1920 Gimbel’s department store in Philadelphia staged a parade of about 50 people with Santa Claus at the rear of the procession. Since 1924 the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City has continued the tradition, with huge balloons since 1927. The holiday associated with Pilgrims and Native Americans has come to symbolize intercultural peace, America’s opportunity for newcomers, and the sanctity of home and family.

Why Thanksgiving Is Also a National Native Day of Mourning

It’s important to know that for many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning and protest since it commemorates the arrival of settlers in North America and the centuries of oppression and genocide that followed.

Organized by the United American Indians of New England in 1970, the fourth Thursday in November (Thanksgiving) is recognized as the National Day of Mourning for Native Americans and their allies.

Many people gather at Cole’s Hill in Plymouth for an organized rally and day of mourning on Thanksgiving. Here’s what they have to say about this choice to mourn:

“Thanksgiving day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the relentless assault on Native culture. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience.”

How Do Native Americans Feel About Thanksgiving?

While some Native Americans have chosen to reject the Thanksgiving holiday entirely, many embrace the positive messages of the day and choose to put aside thoughts about its complex history. This is because the idea of giving thanks is central to Native heritage and culture.

In this way, Thanksgiving is simply a chance to appreciate the good things in life, like family, community, and the riches of the land. Long before settlers arrived, Native tribes celebrated the autumn harvest and the gift of Mother Earth’s abundance. Native American spirituality, traditionally and today, emphasizes gratitude for creation, care for the environment, and recognition of the human need for communion with nature and others.

Thanksgiving as a holiday originates from the Native American philosophy of giving without expecting anything in return. In the first celebration of this holiday, the Wampanoag tribe provided not only the food for the feast but also the teachings of agriculture and hunting (corn, beans, wild rice, and turkey are some specific examples of foods introduced by Native Americans).

Now, regardless of the day’s complicated origin, many Native Americans will gather with friends and family and use the day to eat good food (many of the classic Thanksgiving dishes are inspired by indigenous foods) and give thanks.

Steven Peters, a Wampanoag Tribe spokesman, was asked about his views on Thanksgiving and the fact that most people still gather to eat turkey and give thanks. Here’s what he had to say:

“I think it’s great. My ancestors had four harvest festivals throughout the year. Gathering with family, enjoying our company, sharing our blessings, and giving thanks for all that we have is a good thing. I say have more thanksgiving events throughout the year. I also ask that you take a moment in that day to remember what happened to my people and the history as it was recorded and not the narrative that we had been given in the history books.”

What is the Real Meaning of Thanksgiving?

As we gather this Thanksgiving, we wish the hearts of all people, Native and non-Native, are filled with hope and healing. Together, let’s pledge to dismantle the physical, economic, educational, psychological, and spiritual barriers that divide and oppress us.

Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day allow us to reflect on our collective history and celebrate the beauty, strength, and resilience of the Native tribes of North America.

We remember the generosity of the Wampanoag tribe to the European settlers.
We remember the hundreds of thousands of Native Americans who lost their lives because of the ignorance and greed of colonists and the genocide experienced by whole tribes.
We remember the vibrant and resilient Native descendants, families, and communities that persist to this day throughout the culture and the country.
We give thanks to people like Sharice Davids and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, whose hard work and diligence helped place them in positions where the Native American voice can be heard.

Resources

britannica.com, “Thanksgiving.” By David J. Silverman; fee.org, “The Lesser Known History of Thanksgiving in America.” By James R. Harrigan; visit.archives.gov, “Thanksgiving: Historical Perspectives.” By National Archive Editors; blog.nativehope.org, “The History of Thanksgiving from the Native American Perspective.”; blogs.loc.gov, “The Real History of Thanksgiving.” By Alli Hartley-Kong;

Common Sense and Ramblings In America

What is Thanksgiving Day?

The Early Days of Giving Thanks

Why Thanksgiving Is Also a National Native Day of Mourning

How Do Native Americans Feel About Thanksgiving?

What is the Real Meaning of Thanksgiving?

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The Early Days of Giving Thanks

Why Thanksgiving Is Also a National Native Day of Mourning

How Do Native Americans Feel About Thanksgiving?

What is the Real Meaning of Thanksgiving?

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