The Great Feast

Remember the first thanksgiving dinner? It was a three-day harvest celebration. In 1621, the Plymouth (Massachusetts) Colony Pilgrims who had survived the prior winter (half of them died; about fifty survived) and the Wampanoag tribe (Native Americans) numbering about ninety feasted together. In that first year the pilgrims were in North America, the Wampanoag tribe had helped them, including teaching them farming techniques. Do you remember Squanto from your history books who was captured by European explorers? He was their translator and guide. If not for the tribe, it is doubtful the pilgrims would have survived. The celebration probably took place between late September and mid-November and was held with an attitude of gratitude and in honor of the cooperation they had had between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims.

Abraham Lincoln set Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863, marking the last Thursday in November as a day of thanks. He did this in part as an effort to unify the nation while the Civil War raged. I wonder if it helped. Thinking of the things we are grateful for can change our attitude and our perspective.

How different would the USA look today if all the settlers and Native Americans had been like those at Plymouth? We will never know. But that first thanksgiving feast should be a yearly reminder that we can get along if we choose to and if we are willing to help each other. If we lived our lives with indebted, thankful hearts, we would all be a lot happier and able to get along. May our hearts grow ever more tender and giving and willing to compromise when necessary. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

AI sources: History, History of Massachusetts, Today, National Geographic

<a href="https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos/leaves-changing-colors">Leaves Changing Colors Stock photos by Vecteezy</a>