The First Thanksgiving Day

Happy Week After Thanksgiving Day!   Hope everyone enjoyed time with family and friends. Time spent with loved ones, whether you share a bloodline or not, makes the most cherished memories. The only thing that saddens me is that more time isn’t spent being thankful. Most of us have more than 95% of the rest of the world. If you have a car and a home, you are truly blessed. ​

While we watch the little plays of children re-enacting the first feast of thanks, the true meaning rarely flashes through our minds. The kids look so cute dressed as Pilgrims and Indians and let’s not forget the turkey running around. For just a few minutes, I want to explore the very first Thanksgiving.

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Way back in 1614...

...a band of Englishmen sailed back to England with a group of Patuxet Indians that were bound for slavery. The Englishmen left behind smallpox which almost wiped out all those that were able to escape being captured. When the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts Bay, they found one Patuxet Indian named Squanto, who had survived slavery in England. He knew the English language, so he was able to communicate.

Squanto taught the Pilgrims to grow corn and to fish. He negotiated a peace treaty between the Englishmen and the Wampanoag Nation. At the end of the first year, there was a huge feast honoring Squanto and the Wampanoags for all they had done to help the Pilgrims get through their first year in this new country.

However, there is more to this story. Later many  religious Puritans arrived and because there were no fences on the land, thought it was theirs for the taking. Although a peace treaty was signed with the Wampanoag Nation, it was not signed by the Pequot Nation. When Puritans began to take their land, they fought back. The Pequot War was one of the bloodiest ever fought.​

In 1637...

...the Pequot gathered to celebrate their Green Corn Festival, which is the equivalent of our Thanksgiving. About 700 men, women and children had come together to celebrate. English and Dutch mercenaries surrounded the Indians and ordered the men to come outside. When they did, they were shot or clubbed to death, while the huddling women and children were burned to death. The next day the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ordered a “Day of Thanksgiving” because these Indians had been killed. Each time a similar victory was won, a “Day of Thanksgiving” was called. George Washington finally proclaimed one day a year to be set aside instead of all the many feasts after each killing. That is how our Thanksgiving Day came to be. 

So, our sweet, heart warming day of celebration began with a very bloody history. I am very thankful that I live in this wonderful country. I would rather be here than any other country in the world. However, I do not agree with how the Puritans came over and basically stole land and murdered people. God doesn’t see color when He looks upon you and I. He only sees His creation that was made to love Him. I am thankful for a loving God that cares for His children. 

That’s a wrap ladies and gentlemen. Hope you enjoyed this short history lesson today. You go to Amazon.com and check out the selections I’ve made for you today. There are many more to choose from. Always remember to B# and God Bless!

Cheryl Johnson,

​The Musician’s Helper

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