Thanksgiving

A Brief History of Thanksgiving...

Every year on the fourth Thursday of November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. As all American kids learn, the holiday originated with the Pilgrims, who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower in 1620. They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, they made a pilgrimage to America.

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast -- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the Indians. The feast was more of a traditional English "harvest home" festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days.

Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl.

The Thanksgiving meal...

At a modern Thanksgiving table, you are likely to find turkey with gravy, cranberry sauce, potatoes or sweet potatoes, stuffing, and of course, pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included these treats. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.

Though the date was changed a couple of times, in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.

Thanksgiving Today...

Nowadays, Thanksgiving is an important holiday, and families all over the country get together to enjoy the feast. Almost all schools and universities give students the Friday after Thanksgiving off as well as the Thursday so kids can travel to be home with their parents. In fact, Thanksgiving is the biggest travel day of the year in America , so be careful if you must brave the roads or airports!

The typical Thanksgiving meal today consists of turkey with gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie for dessert. American families usually eat a large meal earlier than usual and then spend the day watching the numerous football games on tv. And of course, the day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, the official start to the Christmas shopping season and the busiest shopping day of the year. Beware!

If you're away from home and would like some traditional American comfort foods to celebrate Thanksgiving, place an order from Global Gophers and we'll ship your favorite gravy, pumpkin pie mix, cranberry sauce or whatever else you desire right to your door!