The Thanksgiving holiday is a family time with differing traditions in different homes. In our family, traditions included a family meal that featured turkey and dressing, and ended with pumpkin pie. It is still my favorite meal of the whole year. But the best part of our tradition was when we gathered around the table, before we started eating, we would each share one thing we were thankful for, then we would pray and thank God for his blessings. It was our thanksgiving. I am sure that many of you also have meaningful traditions from thanksgivings in your childhood or family gatherings.
But today I want to share about the first Thanksgiving. It is often called the American Thanksgiving to distinguish it from the similar holidays on different dates in other countries. Even in America there is a debate between the states as to where the first thanksgiving occurred: perhaps Virginia, Massachusetts, Texas, or Florida. But the best known of these stories is the Massachusetts one in which Pilgrims and Native Americans gathered to celebrate the Pilgrims’ first harvest in America.
According to this tradition, the first thanksgiving was a harvest festival that lasted for three days. There were 50 pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Indians in attendance. Originally the feast had been planned just for the Pilgrims, but when the Wampanoag people showed up, they were invited to stay and share the meal. Together they ate wild turkey, ducks, fish, eels, corn, and other vegetables.
Since we call that first festival Thanksgiving, I wonder what they were thankful for. I doubt that they went around the group and each shared one thing for which they were grateful—as our family does. One year when Pres. Kennedy made a proclamation for Thanksgiving Day, he listed these items for which those gathered for the first Thanksgiving were grateful: for “safety, for the health of their children, for the fertility of their fields, for the love which bound them together, and for the faith which united them with their God.” That was a good list!
They were thankful for “safety.” The Pilgrims had survived a dangerous voyage on the Mayflower from England, a harsh winter, and an epidemic that had killed half of their number. After such difficult times mere survival was a blessing for which to thank God!
After such a difficult year in which many children had died, it followed that they were thankful for the “health of their children.”
They were thankful for the “fertility of their fields,” meaning for the good harvest they had received. This was due in large part to the help they had received from the Wampanoag people who had taught them farming methods that worked in the cold climate.
They were thankful for “the love that bound them together.” Like other groups of colonists to the New World, the Pilgrims had signed a legal document, the Mayflower Compact, that described that they would govern themselves by common consent and by the rule of law. This compact became a model for the US constitution two centuries later. But the Pilgrims were not just bound to each other by law but by love. They shared and worked together for the common good.
And, most importantly, they were thankful for their “faith which united them with their God.” Many of the Pilgrims—who were not called Pilgrims until 200 years later--came to America in search of a home with freedom to worship without the persecution they had experienced in England. While settlers in the other thirteen colonies were not fleeing persecution like the Pilgrims, they all brought their religion with them. They came from a variety of denominations: Anglican, Congregational, Catholic, Quakers, and Jews. Some of the colonies established an official church, but others had no official church and offered freedom of religion for all. Ultimately freedom of religion became the legal standard in the United States.
The first Thanksgiving was a harvest festival. This celebration was also found in the Old Testament: the feast day known as the Feast of Tabernacles (or the Feast of Booths) was a harvest festival that lasted for seven days (Leviticus 23:33-43). This feast was held in September or October when the Hebrews built temporary shelters made of leafy branches on their rooftops and they would “camp” in these shelters for a full week. This commemorated the forty years they had lived in tents wandering in the wilderness. During this week-long holiday they honored God with daily sacrifices and offerings, thanking him for the bounty of the harvest he had given them. Many modern-day Jews still practice this special week of camping on their roof-tops.
The Bible tells us to “give thanks to the Lord for he is good” (Psalm 106:1). The Jews did that by a week of camping out. The Pilgrims did that by a three-day harvest festival, including their new Native American neighbors. Americans usually do this with a one-day holiday including a special meal with family and friends. Some churches make this occasion into a community event where everyone is invited to come and share the good food.
Whatever tradition we follow, we should thank God for his blessings, including safety, health, harvest, love that binds us, and the faith that unites us. Happy Thanksgiving!
Greg Giles is a published author, who, along with his wife Jean, has embraced the call to serve and teach around the globe. Their life together has included missionary work in Liberia, Bangladesh, teaching in China, and raising a family in Bemidji, Minnesota. Between global travels and local commitments, including serving as superintendent of Corn Bible Academy and their current part-time roles at Corn Heritage Village, the Gileses have found “home” in many places; yet, they now happily reside in retirement in Cordell. Please visit his website at reflections-on-wisdom.com.