Introduction
Various people among them scholars and historians correlate holidays with the Pilgrims and Indians meeting down for a big feast. The term thanksgiving first used in the 19th century, was not popular with the Pilgrims themselves. To the Pilgrims thanksgiving was something out of religious devotion. Everything that was undertaken by the Pilgrims including the so called thanksgiving celebration during the fall of 1621 was attached to their religious practices. At the fall of 1621 the Puitan thanksgiving gathering was made to celebrate the historic superb harvest of its time (Philbrick, 2006 p 118). Winslow brings to light that the happening at the gathering of the thanksgiving exhibited several features more than just a normal harvest gathering. The celebration had some English tradition factored into it, traditions that date back to the middle age.
The first thanksgiving did not reflect that of Indians but had much of overwhelming native traditions occurring after the arrival of hundreds of Pokanokets and Massasoit to the Puritan settlement and gave out five deer fresh kills. Tables and chairs of the Puritans were brought out unlike in their normal celebrations which take place indoors; the Puritans had to sit around the fire place. They took several mixtures of food including stews made of vegetables and meat thrown-simmered invitingly. In addition to deer and duck meat being used in the celebration, turkey meat was also eaten during the celebration. The turkeys to the Pilgrims were novelty (Philbrick, 2006 p 122).
The story of the thanksgiving has its roots on the sailing of English explorers to their homes at England with vessels carrying slaves of Patuxet Indian origin. It was all a tragedy to Patuxet Indians as those who escaped slavery were invaded by smallpox. At the Indians arrival to Massachusetts, it was only Squanto who was an Indian who knew the English language and being the only survivor of slavery. Squanto taught his fellow Indians how to practice crop husbandry and fishing. At the end of that year, the Pilgrims had a fantastic harvest and thus they organized for a great feast in honor of Squanto and Wampanoag. As the situation of the Pilgrims spread all over England, the Puritans religious zealots started to avail themselves to the new world paradise (Grace, 2001 p 88). The land was communally owned and thus the Puritans settled every where they had to.
Other British settlers joined them but they viewed this as a threat and they seized the land killing the settlers while capturing the strong and young for slaves. Squanto had negotiated for peace treaty between the Puritans and the Pequot but it was all in vain as he was turned down by the Pequot nation. The historic bloodiest Indian war broke out. This is what is historically known as the Pequot war. In the fall of 1621, several women and children of Pequot tribe estimated at over 700 had came together at Groton, Connecticut for their thanksgiving annual green corn festival celebration. In the predawn time the Dutch and English war lords surrounded the sleeping Indians and threatened them to move out of the longhouse. Those who dared to come out were mercilessly murdered and those who remained indoors were burnt to ashes. The following day, Bay Colony the governor of Massachusetts at that time “A Day of Thanksgiving” because men, women and children of Pequot tribe estimated at over 700 were murdered (George, 1996 p 112). Massacres continued and thanksgiving was held after every successful massacre.
Works cited
George, Jean Craighead. The first thanksgiving. Putnam & Grosset Group, 1996.
Grace, Catherine O'Neill. "1621 A New Look At Thanksgiving." Social Studies 1.2.6 (2001): 4-2.
Philbrick, Nathanial. Mayflower: a story of courage, community, and war. Penguin. com, 2006.
