Happy Thanksgiving

The First Thanksgiving by Jean Louis Gerome Ferris, 1915. There are many errors in most representations, including, in this case, inaccurate costumes for all concerned. But, no cameras in those days.

Happy Thanksgiving!

TOP will be off today (well, except for this post, I guess) to honor the traditional U.S.* holiday of Thanksgiving, one of the four major U.S. holidays**. Thanksgiving commemorates the feast of the first successful harvest in New England by a group of English religious separatists who later came to be known as "the Pilgrims," from a term used in William Bradford's journal. Although not the first English settlement, Plymouth "plantation" (i.e., colony) would become the oldest continuously occupied English settlement in what was later the United States of America.

Although it's often said the Pilgrims came for "religious freedom," actually that's not true—they had previously fled England and settled in Leiden, in the Dutch Republic, where religious freedom was permitted. They departed the Dutch Republic because they were troubled that many of their children were "growing up Dutch," you might say. Although their religious observance was an imperative, they also wanted to preserve their English cultural identity. Thanksgiving's significance is generalized now, but is historically based on religious and ethnic white Anglo-Saxon protestant (WASP) foundations.

The Pilgrims landed near what is now Provincetown Harbor, and located the site of Plymouth by expeditions on foot. The place had been a Patuxet village whose residents had been wiped out by diseases contracted from previous contact with Europeans. Not only did the Pilgrims find cleared fields (and the bones of many of the unfortunate previous residents), but they eventually encountered a Patuxet Indian, Tisquantum, a.k.a. "Squanto," who, remarkably, spoke English and had already been to England!

Squanto is one of the great characters of American history. After five members of his tribe were captured in 1605 to be taken back to England, Squanto volunteered to go along because he was curious. He ended up crossing the Atlantic six times in his life. He was the one who famously taught the Pilgrims to raise corn.

Although the Pilgrims' crossing was hard, only two passengers of the Mayflower died on the way; but nearly half of the 100 settlers died of hardship and disease during a terrible first winter in America. The first Thanksgiving, a harvest thanksgiving feast held in the Fall of 1621, was attended by approximately 90 members of the friendly Wampanoag tribe and their leader, Ousamequin, who was more commonly known by his title, Massasoit, which means great sachem or great chief.

Incidentally, wild turkeys were extremely wiley and difficult to hunt even for the Indians. It is most likely that only a few turkeys were eaten at the first Thanksgiving, either shared as a delicacy or reserved for the leaders' table. The main dish for most of the participants would have been meat pies made of venison (deer meat).

According to legend, one of the reasons the Pilgrims chose Plymouth was because of Plymouth Rock, a large flat-topped boulder in the shallows by the shore that could be used as a sort of dock for the smaller ship's launches from the Mayflower. Plymouth Rock is actually a sort of symbolic relic, first identified in extreme old age by the son of one of the Pilgrims who arrived on the Anne in 1623. There's no primary historical evidence that it was of any importance to the Pilgrims/Separatists, but it was venerated in the 19th century. The rock itself was split in half at least once, moved several times, and whittled down until as late as 1880 by people wishing to own literal "pieces of history." Although now not much of a boulder as a consequence, it rests at sea level back in its original location, housed in a columned reliquary, and is seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

Hope you have a nice day, wherever you are, even if today's not a holiday for you. We'll be back tomorrow with Part II of Carl's posts about the Panasonic GX7.

Mike

*In accordance with the Constitution, the United States does not have official national holidays. The government only has the authority to "give itself" holidays. Hence the term "Federal holiday." 

**The other three are Christmas, New Year's Day, and Indepedence Day. Those four, plus Veteran's Day, are the only Federal holidays not observed on Mondays. Many States, local communities, and various religions (including Christianity, which is not the official religion of the United States) observe their own holidays.

Original contents copyright 2013 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Comments

[Albert W Erickson]

Mike happy T Day to you as we'll enjoy your time away from your computer.

[Hugh Smith]

An interesting note...
The Pilgrims left Plymouth England only to land on Plymouth Rock. How lucky was that?
My two pesos and a Happy Thanksgiving to all!
My two pesos.

[paul richardson]

Here's a link to a few shots of Provincetown as it looks today, for the curious: http://paulhrichardsonphotography.com/#/provincetown/

The shots labeled "Province Lands" show the exact site of the Pilgrim landing.

Paul

[paul richardson]

I forgot to mention that the site is still under construction, so to speak, so forgive the unfinished feel (it's a lot more work than I anticipated, with my limited skills).

[Glenn C. Riffey]

Love your column; interesting, short and accurate. Always enjoy your work and this one helped to make this day special in your own way. Thanks for sharing and I do hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving...

Glenn

[Paul Sternberg]

Thank you for the Thanksgiving wishes, Michael. They are appreciated and wholeheartedly returned for all that you provide to your readers.

If I may make one clarification, however, purely in the spirit of being historically correct (not trying to be a jerk). The continuous English community of Kecoughtan was founded in what is now Hampton, Virginia in 1610. It actually survived when Jamestown was abandoned.

Kind regards...... Paul

[MJFerron]

Having lived many years in the area and also in Plymouth itself I'd like to tell folks it's a wonderful tourist destination. Lots to do and photogenic as well. But one thing? You might want to skip Plymouth rock unless you are walking by. I'll describe it less poetically than Mike. It's just a boulder down in a hole!
I overheard a young couple once in Plymouth. He asked his partner if she would like to check out Plymouth Rock? She says what else can we do? I don't feel like climbing today. (Guess you need to see the rock to appreciate the humor in that)

[Thomas Turnbull]

Happy Thanksgiving, Mike, (13th gen from WB),

Among many other people and things and experiences, I'm really grateful for getting to know you through The Online Photographer!

Thomas Turnbull (12th gen from WB)

[Speed]

Benjamin Franklin ...

I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For in Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America... He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Turkey#Benjamin_Franklin_and_the_national_bird_suggestion

While wild turkeys may have been "wiley and extremely difficult to hunt," I have frequently seen them strutting boldly around my suburban neighborhood. If not for laws against discharge of firearms, they might once again become "wiley." Same for the deer that eat my roses and hydrangeas.

[El Inglés]

One reason why I turn to TOP first each day. Despite having many friends from the USA (in my international environment, US alone sometimes upsets Mexico), I'd not heard so much about the origins of Thanksgiving. A happy Thanksgiving to you, Mike, and your compatriots. I'm sorry only because the likes of Amazon are forcing Black Friday and Internet Monday on us Old Worlders.

[RobinP]

Thank you for the enlightning history lesson Mike, always interesting to learn about the strange foreign country where you reside -:)

[Bob Smith]

Mike, I'm thankful for a lot of things this year, TOP being one of them. Thanks and have a good and relaxing day.

Cheers, Bob

[Will]

Not sure on the accuracy of the history on this, but I recently heard it argued that the "myth" of pilgrims coming to America in search of religious liberty is something of a falsehood; the argument was that the Puritans that settled Massichusetts left a situation where they were already free to practice their religion as they wished. What they came to America for, it was argued, was the freedom to have a community where they could discriminate against and persecute others for not conforming to their religious beliefs. Basically that they'd been tolerated as a minority, but would rather come to a place where they could be intolerant as a majority.

As I say, I don't know the complete accuracy of that reading of history, but it certainly checks out with my understanding of Puritain society...

[Mani Sitaraman]

I give thanks for TOP!

And for the sake of completeness, I have to add...

The viewing of this video clip, too, may have become an annual Thanksgiving ritual.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VbYZDohsHk

[Goff]

Thanksgiving was not for the gift of turkey's, but the gift of cod, which kept the early colonists from starving. That is why there is a large wooden cod in the Boston council chamber. Enjoy your holiday and thank you for another year of fascinating photography articles. Goff

[David Dyer-Bennet]

My somewhat jaundiced description of the situation was that the Pilgrims left Holland fleeing the religious tolerance there, to set up a theocratic state. Luckily their intentions got subverted later.