STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSES MOUTH

Duane A. Lienemann
UNL Extension Educator

     I am sitting here on the day before Thanksgiving with images in my mind of turkey with all the fixings and of course, all of the other foods that are certain to grace the many tables across this great land. I certainly hope I don’t short out my keyboard as I salivate, just thinking of what may lie ahead for my gullet. I am wondering what topic or issue I could discuss this week and as I read through tons of material, sifting for something that I can get my mind around and be of use to those that read my musings I couldn’t help but wonder if we should perhaps take a peek back at the history of Thanksgiving. So let’s take a step back in time and see how much remember from the lessons we got as students cutting out construction paper turkeys, Pilgrim hats, Cornucopias and other symbols we have used to portray this special time of year.
     As I recall my history lessons, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast in 1621 which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in this country. Historians don’t know the exact date, but place it sometime between September 21 and November 9. That harvest meal became a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration and likely lasted more than one day, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. We as American’s take credit for this tradition but I think we need to look at where it originated. Native American groups throughout the Americas organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America. The Pilgrims actually joined in with something that had been going on long before they came to America.
     Even though we look traditionally look at the Plymouth Colonies, many historians however suggest that earlier European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia may have actually been the first. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic. This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record, two years before the Pilgrims. The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years and grew in importance and culture. During the American Revolution (late 1770's) a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress. In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.
     The Thanksgiving meal is remarkably consistent in its elements: the turkey, the stuffing, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Barring ethical, health, or religious objections, it is pretty much the same meal for everyone, across latitudes and longitudes, and through the years of their lives. We stick with the basics and simply change the seasonings. But what about that first Thanksgiving in the fall of 1621, when British settlers hosted the first documented harvest celebration? What did they eat, and how similar is it to the traditional American Thanksgiving meal? My inquiring mind needed to know.
     From all accounts the main wild game hunted at that time was the native deer and large fowl, so my guess is that venison was a major ingredient, as well as pheasants, geese, and duck. Turkeys are a possibility, but were not a common food in that time. Pilgrims grew onions and herbs. Cranberries and currants would have been growing wild in the area, and watercress may have still been available if the hard frosts had held off, but there’s no record of them having been served. In fact, the meal was probably quite meat-heavy (That still works for me). Likewise, walnuts, chestnuts, and beechnuts were abundant, as were sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichoke). Since they were close to the ocean, shellfish were common, so they probably played a part, as did beans, pumpkins, squashes, and corn (served in the form of bread or porridge), thanks to the Wampanoags. What didn’t they have at the first Thanksgiving? Potatoes (white or sweet), bread stuffing or pie (wheat flour was rare), sugar, and definitely not grandma’s green bean and French-fried onion ring casserole or Aunt Eileen’s pecan pie.
     Whether at Plymouth, Berkeley Plantation, throughout the Americas and even across the world, celebrations of thanks have held great meaning and importance over time. The legacy of thanks, and particularly of the feast, have survived the centuries as people throughout the United States gather family, friends, and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving meal. The traditions are important but the gathering of harvest and of family and friends – priceless!  
     I sometimes wonder how many of us bypass the thoughts of food, family, football and friends and actually contemplate what we are really thankful for. I am certain we all will have different takes on what we are most thankful for. It may be the upbringing that makes us all unique in our own way.  It may be where we live, or the people that we associate on a daily basis. It may be for material things, or perhaps for things more spiritual. It may be the lives we live, or the country in which we are blessed to live. One thing is for sure, we do have many things that make this Thanksgiving time meaningful. We all are blessed in so many ways, even if we sometimes don’t take time to think about those blessings and bounties. Please take the time to count those blessings and thank your family, friends and God for providing you what you do have!


   The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home