Happy Thanksgiving to our Stateside Members.

[Dave]

November 26th History of Thanksgiving.

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers—an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.
Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Indian who greeted them in English. Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which would endure for more than 50 years and tragically remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.
In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time—the festival lasted for three days. While no record exists of the historic banquet’s exact menu, the Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow wrote in his journal that Governor Bradford sent four men on a “fowling” mission in preparation for the event, and that the Wampanoag guests arrived bearing five deer. Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower’s sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations.

 

[David LaFerney]

Why thank you - that's quite kind considering that we are a troublesome pack of tax evading rebels. Honestly it was probably good riddance all in all. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to you as well.

 

[British Red]

I've always liked the idea of thanksgiving, so happy thanksgiving indeed, from the first port the Pilgrims set out from!

 

[woodsorrel]

Thank you everyone for the good wishes!

It is tradition to eat turkey at Thanksgiving. I usually spend the day after the holiday out hiking to see them in the wild (couldn't resist the bushcraft tie-in). They are very large birds. Are there wild turkey in the UK?

- Woodsorrel

 

[santaman2000]

Thanks for all the good wishes! In a few hours the feasting begins!

 

[British Red]

Thank you everyone for the good wishes!

It is tradition to eat turkey at Thanksgiving. I usually spend the day after the holiday out hiking to see them in the wild (couldn't resist the bushcraft tie-in). They are very large birds. Are there wild turkey in the UK?

- Woodsorrel

Not a one! Traditional equivalent here would be goose

 

[Goatboy]

Trying to remember where I read that the Turkeys that they had were actually ones they'd brought with them from England.
Anyway happy belated Thanksgiving to our American chums. The spread always looks fantastic at the meals and the sentiment is a good one.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[santaman2000]

Trying to remember where I read that the Turkeys that they had were actually ones they'd brought with them from England.....

LOL. Seems unlikely as they were native to the New World and unknown elsewhere until then. More unlikely though because IIRC by then they had exhausted all the stores they'd brought.

 

[woodsorrel]

I should mention an interesting Thanksgiving phenomenon this year that might interest you:

REI, the biggest outdoor equipment retailer declared they are closing all their stores on "Black Friday" (traditionally biggest shopping day of the year). They are giving their employees the day off and telling them to get their a** outside! They are also telling their customers to hike instead of shop. More than 49 state and local parks in my area are waiving their entrance fees, in the same spirit.

I like this a lot!!!

- Woodsorrel

 

[woodsorrel]

Oh, and the obligatory bushcraft turkey article:

http://www.natureoutside.com/talking-turkey/


- Woodsorrel

 

[bobnewboy]

LOL. Seems unlikely as they were native to the New World and unknown elsewhere until then. More unlikely though because IIRC by then they had exhausted all the stores they'd brought.

Yep, my favourite archery mither when I see 'olde english archers' etc on TV. They are always shooting turkey fletched arrows in medieval scenes, grrrrrr :aargh4: ...Even in the 'Last Kingdom' !

Happy Thanksgiving in any case. Watch those deep fat fryers!

 

[John Fenna]

The 16th-century English navigator William Strickland is generally credited with introducing the turkey into England.[5][6] His family coat of arms — showing a turkey cock as the family crest — is among the earliest known European depictions of a turkey.[5][7] English farmer Thomas Tusser notes the turkey being among farmer's fare at Christmas in 1573.[8] The domestic turkey was sent from England to Jamestown, Virginia in 1608. A document written in 1584 lists supplies to be furnished to future colonies in the New World; "turkies, male and female".[9]
From good old Wiki ...
Thanksgiving Turkeys were probably Spanish Blacks - not native wild American birds

 

[Goatboy]

LOL. Seems unlikely as they were native to the New World and unknown elsewhere until then. More unlikely though because IIRC by then they had exhausted all the stores they'd brought.

The Pilgrim settlers weren't the first Europeans by a long shot, even counting the Norse chaps. The pilgrims were met by an Indian who spoke English (and indeed supposedly asked for some beer in English) as he'd been to Europe as a captive. Europeans had been to America for quite a while and Turkeys were well known in Europe and were sold by traders. And when the Pilgrims left Britain so that they could continue to religiously persecute they had Turkeys on board as part of their inventory supposedly.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Hoodoo]

Thanks for the Thanksgiving greetings! It's a good holiday to remind us of how much we have. Even in the worst of times, there is always something to be thankful for.

 

[santaman2000]

The Pilgrim settlers weren't the first Europeans by a long shot, even counting the Norse chaps......

Definitely true. Still their stores had been long depleted (before their first crops came in prior to that Thanksgiving they were reduced to a ration entirely of dried peas)

 

[santaman2000]

Yep, my favourite archery mither when I see 'olde english archers' etc on TV. They are always shooting turkey fletched arrows in medieval scenes, grrrrrr :aargh4: ...Even in the 'Last Kingdom' !

Happy Thanksgiving in any case. Watch those deep fat fryers!

LOL. Thanks. I'm not cooking the turkey this year and we're not frying. My SIL, Stephen, is smoking it. I'm providing the dressing (gluten free cornbread dressing of course) and Barbara is providing the green bean casserole (also gluten free) Nikole is making the pies; her first attempt at pecan pies. Not sure what else will turn up on the menu.