The Thanksgiving Story

I have a very special friend who is passionate about history, actually she is passionate about most everything. We were gathered with some friends a few weeks ago and we started talking about the real meaning of Thanksgiving. She offered to do some research and here is what she came up with. We read this at our Thanksgiving table and were blessed to share this concise and accurate recounting of the first Thanksgiving. Here is what she wrote for us and I wanted to share it with you.

“In 1620, the Pilgrims, English citizens who were living in Holland because of religious persecution in England, decided to set sail to a country of their own, where they could read the Bible and worship freely.  After 65 days at sea, on November 11, 1620, the Mayflower dropped anchor in a harbor inside the northern tip of Cape Cod.

In December, after exploring the area, they decided to settle in Plymouth. The area used to belong to the Patuxets, a hostile Indian tribe who killed anyone who invaded their territory.  An unknown disease had recently wiped out the entire tribe though, so the Pilgrims found fields that were already cleared and ready for planting.

The nearest neighbors were the Wampanoags, a civilized tribe ruled by Massasoit.  The chief and his people accepted the Pilgrims and helped them.   They signed a peace treaty with the Pilgrims that lasted 55 years.  The Wampanoag tribe gave them corn, beans, and squash to plant.  Squanto, the lone survivor of the Patuxets, befriended the Pilgrims and taught them how to survive in the new land – how to hunt, fish, and farm.  Years before, he had been kidnapped and brought to Spain and England, where he learned to speak English. When he was able to return home, he found out that all of his people were dead, so Chief Massasoit let him live with his tribe.

The first year in Plymouth was very difficult for the Pilgrims.  They weren’t prepared for the harsh weather and their supplies didn’t last through the winter.  Many people starved to death.  By the end of the winter, half of them (51 people) had died.  If it weren’t for the help they received from Squanto and the Wampanoags, they would have all died.

Fortunately, however, their first harvest from the summer of 1621 was abundant.  They were able to grow 20 acres of corn.  In October of 1621, Governor Bradford declared a Day of Thanksgiving and invited Chief Massasoit.  They were surprised when instead of arriving by himself, he arrived with ninety other Indians.  They celebrated their first harvest with three days of feasting, games, and prayers with their Indian friends who had helped them through that first long, cold winter.  This was the first Thanksgiving.

The next month, 35 unexpected settlers from England landed at Plymouth.  They didn’t bring any extra food, clothing, or provisions.  The Pilgrims now had almost twice as many people to feed.  The winter of 1621/1622 was very difficult and the Pilgrim’s food supply was depleted.  The governor instituted a daily ration of 5 kernels of corn a day per person.  This was the only thing they had to eat during the entire day on many days.   Amazingly, though, history records show that not one person died from starvation that winter.  The people had faith that God would take care of them and they would pull through.  The harvest in the summer of that second year in 1622 was a failure.  They survived mainly on shellfish. Their friend, Squanto, died in September of 1622.  Needless to say, they had no day of thanksgiving during that second year.

In the spring of 1623, the Pilgrims planted twice as much to be able to sustain them through the next winter.   Soon after planting, though, they had 12 weeks of drought that dried up their crops.  One day the desperate Pilgrims fasted and prayed for 8 hours straight.  The next morning, God answered their prayers with a gentle rain that continued for 14 days and saved the crops.

The harvest of 1623 brought a surplus of corn, so much so that the Pilgrims were able to help out the Indians and trade with them.  They were so thankful for how God had provided that they celebrated a second Day of Thanksgiving in the fall. Governor Bradford made it a day for giving “glory, honor, and praise with all thankfulness to our God who dealt so graciously with us.”  They again invited Massasoit to be their guest.  He came bringing with him his wife, several other chiefs and 120 braves.

Legend has it that to remind everyone of the hard times they had endured and how much they had to be thankful to God, the Pilgrims and their guests sat down to an empty plate on that second Thanksgiving.  Then each person was given 5 kernels of corn.  The 5 kernels reminded the Pilgrims of all they had suffered the previous winter and of God’s loving care for them.

In 1789, George Washington proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving day, “a day of public Thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a Constitution of government for their safety and happiness.”  In 1863, President Lincoln made the last Thursday of November, a national Thanksgiving holiday, a day of “thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” (Thanks Linda)

Every year we place 5 kernels of corn at each guests place setting and we pass around a small basket so that we can drop in one kernel of corn each time the basket goes by and share what we are thankful for. This year we shared an affirmation for the person sitting to our left as our last kernel of corn was placed in the basket.

Finish up your Thanksgiving celebration by reading Psalm 100 and you will all be blessed.
A Psalm for Thanksgiving
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is he who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.