Thankfulness

Following is the story of the first Fall Feast/Thanksgiving.  In all the pictures we see of the first Thanksgiving, there is usually a large group of people gathered around a large table with loads of food on it.  We rarely hear of the heart breaking deaths and diseases that happened wiping out half of the original group. 

Thanksgiving at Plymouth

In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers—an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.

Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Indian who greeted them in English. Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which would endure for more than 50 years and tragically remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time—the festival lasted for three days. While no record exists of the historic banquet’s exact menu, the Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow wrote in his journal that Governor Bradford sent four men on a “fowling” mission in preparation for the event, and that the Wampanoag guests arrived bearing five deer. Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower’s sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations

What We Have to be Thankful for!

First off, and I mean this as humorous as I possibly can, I'm thankful I don't live in Massachusetts...  I have been up there many times and love the people, but I am so thankful I don't live up there.  God has blessed us all incredibly in the 391 years since the first Thanksgiving feast.  Our life expectancey is higher than back then and is not in direct correlation to the local bear and wolf population.  We live in places without dirt for floors.  If we run out of sugar, we may complain for a bit and then hop in our car/truck/SUV/minivan and get some from the local grocery store.  Or, better yet, have them deliver it to us via internet order.  Our lives have been so blessed by God that sometimes through all the gifts He has given, we all get complacent and forgetful for our HUGE bunch of blessings! 

For tomorrow, click here for a starter list of things to be thankful for!  Most of all, be thankful to God for your blessings.  There are things going on in each of our lives that stress us out.  Jobs, marriage issues, kids, money problems, etc...  Look for the small blessings and use those as a foundation to build your thankfulness on.  Keep on building from there and teach your kids through your own thankfulness how to be grateful for all they have been given.  May God bless you deeply this season with all the richness of His love!  Have a Happy Thanksgiving 2012!