Thanksgiving Day is a celebration of gratitude and derives its importance from a deep-rooted history. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States declared that the Last Thursday of November shall be observed as Thanksgiving Day, that it is to be seen as a “National Holiday”, on the note of victory that the nation has had in the Battle of Gettysburg (1863). Ever since then, the day has acquired immense significance. Let us get into the detailed History of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Day is observed as an annual secular holiday in the United States and is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday in the month of November. The date is therefore not a specific one, rather everchanging.
The given background does not reflect the actual story behind Thanksgiving Day. The First Thanksgiving Day wasn’t what it has now become to be known for. The day has darker associations to it and here we shall learn them all.
What is the Real Story of Thanksgiving?
Knowing the original story or the true history of Thanksgiving Day can be time taking. So, we’ve curated the absolute precise outline of what happened. So, fasten your seatbelts as we drive through the paths of history of Thanksgiving.
The story can be traced back to the point in history when the first Thanksgiving Day was celebrated. Back in the 1620s, the site where the first Thanksgiving Day was celebrated was largely inhabited by the native American Tribes.
For more than 12,000 years, this place that now lies in present-day Southeastern Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island, had been inhabited by people belonging to the Wampanoag tribe. Remember the name because they play a crucial role in our true understanding of the history of Thanksgiving Day.
Opposed to the Wampanoag tribe were a group of Puritans, majorly comprising people from Plymouth Colony. These English Protestants are also recognized by the term ‘Mayflower pilgrims’, consisting of 102 passengers in total.
A lesser-known fact about them is that they signed a contract with a trading company known by the name Virginia Company. The objective of the contract was to colonize parts of eastern coast.
However, soon the contract led to disintegration and mess among the Mayflower pilgrims. Several of them suffered serious illness due to exposure to the extremely brutal winter. Only a few could survive.
In the next turn of events, the ill and starving pilgrims were generously helped by an Abenaki Indian and a native American, Squanto. Squanto taught the pilgrims how to cultivate and recover from malnutrition.
Soon, the pilgrims formed an alliance with the natives and for more than 50 years, a peaceful relationship existed between the colonists and the Wampanoag tribal people.
First Thanksgiving Day
It was during this harmonious time shared by the colonists and the natives that the first Thanksgiving Day is known to be celebrated at Plymouth in November 1621. The day was celebrated after their first successful harvest. The pilgrims were helped by the Indians and the natives through the entire process and the two were involved in a sort of feast.
It was a three-day-long feast that saw meals of various kinds – ranging from corn to roasted meat and deer. Along with eating, the two parties pleased themselves by playing games, singing and dancing. Isn’t the best way to celebrate?
In 1623, the Pilgrims held the second Thanksgiving Day, marking the end of a prolonged drought that had been threatening to the year’s harvest. Governor Bradford arranged for a similar celebration with all the food and all of the entertaining stuff.
It was in 1789 that the first Thanksgiving proclamation was issued by the national government under the leadership of George Washington. It was an urge directed towards the Americans to express gratitude to the country’s independence and ratification of the US Constitution.
This is how all elementary schools have taught us about Thanksgiving History. However, the Thanksgiving Dark History is beyond the good food and family time. Behind the gala, there’s a dark past, a past so capable of chilling your spines.
Thanksgiving Dark History
Since it is all about letting you know about the true story of what happened, let us give another name to Thanksgiving – ‘truths giving’, a term coined by Christine Nobis. The truth has to be investigated from the point of view of the native tribe, Wampanoag since their role has almost been forgotten and has been erased in the books of History.
The love and warmth endured by the natives were in complete opposition to the brutal and violent treatment undertaken by the colonists in the next few decades of first thanksgiving and beyond.
While many believe that the native people weren’t even invited to the feast, many sympathize with what happened to the tribe. The celebration of 1621 was followed by Squanto’s death in 1622. The years that followed were troublesome.
In 1637, an estimated number of 400-700 women, children and old men were burned alive by the combined forces of several colonies. Not only that, their action found justification as well. Since then, almost three hundred thousand Indians had been mistreated – some enslaved, some displaced and some killed by the colonial authorities.
The lives of the Wampanoag tribal people were not as prosperous and harmonious as it had been depicted. They were faced by struggles and violations of rights. Anyone who has known the dark past hesitates to celebrate this day.
Conclusion
Modern day Thanksgiving is all about visiting friends and family, eating possibly every traditional American food such as turkey, mashed potatoes, Candied yams, Cranberry sauce and so much more. However, the tragic loss of lives, the bloodshed and the injustice is still remembered by some.
The statue of Massasoit in Plymouth witnesses several natives every year on Thanksgiving who come to pay respect to their ancestors. Thanksgiving Day is therefore also a day of mourning. For many, there’s no thanks, no giving, just a reminder of betrayal and inevitable mourning.