The Concordian

         Mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies, and of course the turkey or other fowl bird; All ‘traditional’ Thanksgiving fixings. The origins of turkey-day started for us, as most know, in 1621 with the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock.

The event was called an autumn feast, or the Autumn Harvest Festival in which the Native Americans and the Pilgrims shared a meal together to signify unity and peace among them, but the real tradition goes back even further.

Years before the colonists arrived, many native tribes would annually host an autumn feast after the harvest to give thanks. 

Even the English had been known to have feasts of ‘Thanksgiving” which thanked God for what they had. Yet, what we traditionally serve at today’s dinners definitely was not what the Pilgrims and the natives were eating.

There were no hams, potatoes, eggs, or even pumpkin pies. Instead the Pilgrims feasted on a variety of items including, quite surprisingly, eels, swans, whole onions, lettuce, acorns, seals, and even eagles. Other foods included cranberries, blueberries, clams and lobsters just to name a few.

Table manners at the time period were also quite different than today. There were no forks, only knives and spoons so the Pilgrims and the Native Americans ate with what tools they had, including their fingers.

The food preparation and serving was also different in the time period as one might imagine. Food was placed on the table in a manner of class. Also, there wasn’t pepper available for their food, but salt was readily on hand.

More highly regarded citizens were place nearer the “better foods” while lower standing citizens were placed nearer to  food of lesser stance. If no particular dish was set near someone, they just ate what was near them instead of sampling everything on the table as we do today.

Also, if it were only desserts a pilgrim wished to eat, or only meats, then they ate whatever they pleased as opposed to having their meals in courses as we might today.

To an unsuspecting individual, this may sound a little ill-mannered, but it was custom at the time.

Instead of using plates or serving each individual a plate of food, all the dishes were placed on the table and individuals would pick an item and eat until they had their fill and then pass it on to someone else. Of all the traditions of the time, that one may get one in trouble these days if they were to try it.

The manners were strange, and the food was spicy. There were more meats on the table than any other item and from the feast and many traditions of today began to spin off throughout history.

During a drought in the 17th century, Pilgrim Governor, William Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer, and rain happened to follow soon.

In celebration, he declared November 29th to be a day of “thanks and giving” which is believed to be where the idea of a national holiday began.

Since then, many changes have been made to the day and the feast. America went to war with itself deeming the idea of any national holiday useless since the nation itself was not complete.

It wasn’t until Abraham Lincoln, in 1916, that Thanksgiving was officially a national holiday. The date Lincoln set was the last Thursday of every November. Since then the holiday has been moved because sometimes the last Thursday in November would fall in the fifth week of a month making it that much shorter until Christmas.

To solve the problem, President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the date in 1939 to every fourth Thursday in November, thus allowing businesses more time to prepare for the coming Christmas season. It was approved by Congress in 1941 and has been the date ever since.

Other Thanksgiving traditions include the pardoning of the National Turkey. The National Turkey Federation began giving the White House a turkey each year in 1947 with President Truman. In actuality, the Federation gives the White House three turkeys.

The pardoning of the turkey began with President Kennedy who stated that he would not be eating his turkey that was presented to him. Instead it would live a full life.

Although Kennedy was the first to state he would not be eating his turkey, it was actually George Bush Senior who started the National Pardoning of the turkey.

Each year of his presidency, he graciously pardoned a National Federations turkey upon presentation and each year since it has been a tradition of the Acting President.

Today, one of Federation turkeys, along with another random turkey, is selected to be pardoned from becoming a feast. The two turkeys are then sent to a farm or zoo to live out their natural lives. The other two turkeys, are cooked, and become part of the annual White House feast.

As a back up, a second turkey is chosen to also be pardoned, incase the first turkey can’t perform for the ceremony. Both turkeys live their lives to their ends naturally. 

One of today’s traditions revolves around the radio and the television set. Yet.  it isn’t necessarily the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade that has eyes and ears tuned in. It’s football. In 1934 the Detroit Lions played football on Thanksgiving Day and have continued to do so every year since with the exception of most of the years of World War II (1939-1944).

NBC radio broadcast their first game across 94 stations and each year they have continued to broadcast both on the radio and the television set.

Today, it is considered tradition for some several million fans to gather around and watch football games during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Each year some 65 million turkeys are baked on Thanksgiving. Tables are abundant with food, families gather together, and thanks are given for whatever one has to be thankful for. Some are gathered around stadiums, radios, and television to watch football, the president, or holiday specials. Others are waiting for the Black Friday Sale countdown. Some are just content to eat and sleep.

From the Pilgrims and Native Americans in 1621 celebrating a union and a grand harvest, to President Lincoln’s declaration of a national holiday in 1916, the festival of Thanksgiving has changed in traditions, meal choices, and past times, but the underlying purpose of giving thanks still reigns on.

Article Tools