What Thanksgiving Means to Americans Today
Thanksgiving is a day to express gratitude for loved ones, for life,
and for good fortune. It is a day to realize that some aspects of life extend beyond the
individual, and into the realms of cooperation and brotherhood. It is additionally a day
to remember that life is not a guarantee, but a blessing that can be supported or
concluded at the mercy of natural forces. Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful for every
aspect that leads to a bounteous life.
What Thanksgiving Meant to Pilgrims in
1621
The celebration of Thanksgiving is derived from a gathering of Pilgrims and Native
Americans at Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1621. The Pilgrims wished to give thanks to God
and to their Native American neighbors for helping them to produce a bounteous harvest of
food to last them through the coming winter. After a difficult winter in 1620, this
fruitful harvest provided them with renewed hope and ability to survive the winter to
come.
The Thanksgiving Story
In August of 1620 the Mayflower set sail from England with 102 passengers intent on
settling in the new world of America. After a long voyage across the Atlantic, the site
of land was a welcome one. The Pilgrims anchored at Plymouth Rock on November 21, 1680,
and began to establish their new home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
A Devastating Winter
Immediate attempts to build homes and shelter were made with much progress, but winter
came quickly upon the settlement. The Pilgrims suffered through the winter with
inadequate supplies, minimal food, and insufficient protection from the cold weather. The
harsh winter claimed the lives of nearly half of the settlers before the arrival of
spring in 1621.
Recovering in Spring
The spring was a period of recovery for the Pilgrims. It brought relief from the cold and
the difficult losses of the winter. The settlers understood the importance of growing an
adequate crop and fortifying their shelters for the winter to come. There was no way to
know how successful their planting would be in America, however, as they had no
experience in growing crops in the new land.
Cooperation with Native Americans
The Pilgrims found help at the hand of their benevolent Native American neighbors. They
showed the settlers how to plant corn by the method they had used for many years. They
helped the Pilgrims to become more familiar with the land to use it to their advantage in
preparation for the winter to come.
A Bounteous Harvest
The fall harvest proved a bountiful one for the Pilgrims, with an ample yield of corn,
wheat, and barley to sustain them through the winter. The Pilgrims were grateful to the
Native Americans for their compassion and kindness in showing them how to grow crops on
American soil. With sufficient preparations to sustain them through the winter, the
Pilgrims had much to be thankful for and genuine reasons to celebrate.
With greatly improved circumstances, the Pilgrims felt a need to show
their appreciation to God and to their Native American friends. The governor of the
settlement, William Bradford declared that a celebration of Thanksgiving should be held
among the people. The Pilgrims invited the Native Americans for a feast to celebrate the
bounteous harvest and to thank them for their valuable help.
The Thanksgiving Feast
The Thanksgiving feast was a three-day celebration. Over ninety Native Americans came to
celebrate with the Pilgrims, bringing additional food and supplies for the feast.
Throughout the celebration the Pilgrims and Native Americans enjoyed venison, squash,
corn, wheat, barley, and fruits. They also cooked certain types of fowl, which may have
included turkeys and other wild birds.
The feast was a harvest celebration, but it was also a demonstration
of thanks for the goodwill shared among people of different cultures when it was greatly
needed. It was an opportunity for grieving people to find solace from their losses
through generosity and human compassion. This feast served as a model for Americans in
generations to come to give thanks for all that is good in life.
Thanksgiving After the Plymouth Settlement
Although the Thanksgiving feast was not established as an annual event among the Plymouth
settlement in years to follow, it was remembered and praised by people in later years.
Sarah Joseph Hale found the feast to be of great significance and petitioned President
Abraham Lincoln and other officials to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Her efforts
contributed to President Lincoln’s decision in 1863 to proclaim the last Thurday of
November as a day to celebrate Thanksgiving.
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt affirmed the proclamation
that Thanksgiving should be held as a national holiday, but he changed the date from the
last Thursday of November to the 4th Thursday of November. This moved the Thanksgiving a
little further from Christmas and allowed for Christmas shoppers to get an earlier start
on their purchases. This decision was influenced by the great depression and the worry
that poor sales that might result from Thanksgiving falling on the 5th Thursday of the
month(which produced a shorter Christmas shopping season than usual). The decision
created one additional week for Christmas shopping.
In 1941 congress declared Thanksgiving as an official federal holiday
retaining the assignment of date to the fourth Thursday of November. This became the
standing date which has not again been challenged. Thanksgiving is one of the few Federal
holidays that remains unaffected by the Uniform Monday Law that changed many holidays to
be observed on Mondays. For this reason Thanksgiving occurs on its own, in the middle of
the week and is observed with special singular recognition.
Thanksgiving Today
Today thanksgiving holds a special significance to many Americans. It is a day to express
appreciation for family, friends, and everything that brings happiness. In modern life
there are few who are subjected to conditions as harsh as those experienced by the
Pilgrims in 1860. Thanksgiving is a day to remember the difficult circumstances the
Pilgrims faced and the joy they must have felt to receive help and a bounteous harvest in
the following year. Thanksgiving is a day to express gratitude for loved ones, and good
fortune.
Traditions
Thanksgiving is celebrated today with the gathering of family and friends for large
feasts and expression gratitude. It is common for those who attend parties to bring along
food to contribute to the feast, as the Native Americans did in 1861. Thanksgiving feasts
are an indulgence today, but they are reminiscent of the tradition from which the holiday
began. Although today’s feasts may not last for three days, Thanksgiving feasts
continue to please those who attend with bounteous meals and pleasurable company.
Here is a list of common foods found at a modern Thanksgiving
feast:
| Turkey |
| Ham |
| Stuffing |
| Potatoes: Mashed, Baked, Scalloped,
etc. |
| Corn: Corn, corn bread |
| Bread |
| Rolls |
| Cranberries |
| Pumpkin Pie |
| Apple Pie |
| Yams |
Thanksgiving celebrations are a time for enjoying food and having fun, but the most
essential element of the holiday is to express gratitude for all that we have. From
family and friends, to food and shelter, there is much in our lives to be thankful
for.
 Try our Thanksgiving Day Treat:
An Original Family Fun Shop recipe.
"Caramel Candy"
With all of the great things to eat on Thanksgiving, it is difficult to find something
that truly stands out as exceptional. "Caramel Candy" answers this challenge with
outstanding taste and exceptional richness.
- Article by Wes Fessler
Sources:
1. usahistory.info, “The Pilgrim Fathers”
http://www.usahistory.info/New-England/Pilgrims.html [Accessed 7 July 2007]
2. fdrlibrary.marist.edu, “The Year We Had Two
Thanksgivings”
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/thanksg.html [Accessed 7 July 2007]
3. Jones, Cathrina, “Thanksgiving History and
Celebration”
http://thanksgivingforall.blogspot.com/ [Accessed 7 July 2007]
4. mayflowerhistory.com, “The 1621
Thanksgiving”
http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/History/thanksgiving.php [Accessed 7 July 2007]
5. infoplease.com, “Thanksgiving History”
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/tgturkey1.html [Accessed 7 July 2007]
6. Simple English Wikipedia, “Thanksgiving”
http://simple .wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving [Accessed 7 July 2007]
7. wilstar.com, “The Thanksgiving Story”
http://wilstar.com/holidays/thankstr.htm [Accessed 7 July 2007]
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