Jessica Crabtree

#10: The “First” First Thanksgiving

The first Thanksgiving: An idyllic scene of Indians and white settlers, side by side, enjoying a feast near the coast, giving thanks for all the good things in life. The date: September 8, 1565.

What? I thought the Pilgrims didn’t land at Plymouth until 1620!

That’s right – because the first recorded “Thanksgiving” didn’t occur in Massachusetts, but in Florida, at the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine (which is, by the way, the oldest permanent European settlement in North America). The Spanish were established in the Americas long before the English; and while we tend to think of the Pilgrims as the “common ancestors” of all Americans, they were preceded in the New World not only by other Europeans but by other English as well. So in a manner of speaking, Plymouth is something of a historical moot point.

Some would argue, and rightly so, that whether the true origin of our modern Thanksgiving was in English or Spanish colonies is irrelevant. In both instances, the celebrations were held to reflect the settlers’ belief that their colonial endeavors had received divine sanction. And in both cases the so-called holiday was never intended to become an official commemoration. It is only the romanticized and idealized legend that became the inspiration for the popular version that has persisted for so long.

The fact is that Thanksgiving celebrations were practiced by Native Americans across the continent for millennia as an integral part of their culture. The idea of giving thanks as it exists in indigenous culture is actually much closer to the values we purport to celebrate each November, and it was arguably these ideals as put into practice by Native Americans that have given life and meaning to the holiday.