In 1620, the ship with the very familiar name The Mayflower sailed from Europe to America, landing at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in November, later in the year and farther north than they had planned. There were about 100 people seeking to be free from the constraints of the rules of the Church of England, along with other people traveling to the New World for other reasons. The most religious of these people were called the Pilgrims, half of whom died that first winter from the weather and the fact that they had not had time to provide for adequate provisions and shelter. The Mayflower itself had been a place used that winter for shelter for many of them.
This venture was made not many years after the great departure of many people from the Catholic Church, called the Protestant Reformation. Because of this, people had begun reading and studying their Bibles like never before, forming groups who believed the same way. Because they were breaking away from the established churches, these groups had been suffering persecution, to the point they were willing to brave the trip on the little ship over the great Atlantic Ocean to a land of which they knew very little.
After that awful voyage and that first terrible winter, the Pilgrims worked hard through the spring and summer, every day but Sunday, to build houses. They planted gardens and built some pieces of furniture. Squanto—the Indian who had been kidnapped from the area years before and taken to England, where he learned to speak English and where he became a Christian, yet who had been successful in returning to his homeland—was an invaluable friend to the Pilgrim community, as he taught them everything they needed to know to survive.
What we know about the first Thanksgiving comes from a letter written in 1621 by Edward Winslow, a Mayflower passenger, which described the event and another account not written until about twenty years later, by William Bradford, Plymouth’s governor in 1621. That Thanksgiving celebration took place over three days sometime between late September and mid-November in 1621. Only about fifty-three colonists attended that first Thanksgiving, including 22 men, only four surviving women of about twenty who came over on the Mayflower, and more than 25 children and youths.
Chief Massasoit and ninety of his warriors of the Wampanoag tribe were guests. This seems to be proof of the fact that the Native Americans and the Europeans were friends. Otherwise, the Pilgrims could have easily been eliminated by the visitors, who instead brought gifts of five deer and stayed to enjoy the feasting and athletic games and events. Not only did the Pilgrims honor their God by prayers of Thanksgiving, but for the Native Americans, according to Linda Coombs, the former associate director of the Wampanoag program at Plimoth Plantation, giving thanks was a daily part of life. She told The Christian Science Monitor, “We as native people [traditionally] have thanksgivings as a daily, ongoing thing. Every time anybody went hunting or fishing or picked a plant, they would offer a prayer or acknowledgment.” (History.com)
The tradition of giving thanks to God, along with harvest celebration, had become a fall tradition in New England by the late 1600s. On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, proclaimed June 20th as a day of thanksgiving to God, acknowledging His protection and provision, promising to praise and glorify Him, and stating, “…being perswaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and soulds as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ.”
In 1789, George Washington, during his first year as President, declared November 26 as “A Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer.” In his first Presidential Proclamation he asked for this day “to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.”
Finally, “On October 3, 1863, expressing gratitude for a pivotal Union Army victory at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln announces that the nation will celebrate an official Thanksgiving holiday on November 26, 1863.” As a unifying event after the tragic war the country had just endured, this was a victory for Sarah Josepha Hale, who had lobbied for this national holiday for more than three decades. Hale, the writer of the children’s poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” in 1830, was the editor of Godey’s Lady Book, one of the most influential periodicals in the country, which position she held for more than forty years. She had written much about the subject. (History.com, on Abraham Lincoln and the Mother of Thanksgiving)
There is so much about our American history, especially concerning the birth of our nation, that has been “rewritten,” or just not taught. This article could go on to catalog many of these errors, such as that of the 1619 Project, which is “spinning a false narrative of American history.” (David Barton, Charisma magazine, November 2021) However, rather than “go there,” I think it would be more to our advantage to look to the future, to determine what hardships we present-day Americans may have to face, and to decide what attitudes we should cultivate even now.
(I do encourage every reader to research for themselves the truth about the above 1619 Project.)
Instead of just being thankful for our holiday foods and for our families, both traditional subjects of Thanksgiving prayers, we can go further, to thank God for bringing us through this pandemic, even when there has been sickness or even deaths in our families. I refer us to the scriptures, such as I Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, Pray continually, Give thanks always in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)
How is it possible to do these verses? Because, as Christians, we can also rely on Romans 8:28, which promises: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (NKJV)
Live for Jesus! He’s coming soon! You may contact me at lagnesrussell@gmail.com or 601-635-3282.
