The Story of Thanksgiving (modified)

I actually posted this on a different blog so I figured I would put this here. Thanksgiving is tomorrow here in the USA. The Pilgrims came to the USA from Europe as you all (probably) know. The journey that met them was even tougher. They escaped for religious freedom, as they desired to pray and worship as they wanted to, not what the King felt was good. The King was one way and the Ocean to the New World was the highway. After a few shorter journeys, the Pilgrims took the latter. The settlers in the new world were not prepared to live in the New World because they could not farm the land properly. Along came members of the Wompanoag Indian tribe alliance member Squanto showed them how to grow food properly. The result at the harvest time was that there was plenty of food for the long winter.

Why is that significant? How could a member of the Wompanoan tribal alliance communicate with the new settlers? He had been captured and brought to England as a youth by George Weymouth in 1605 (to prove he did go to the New World). Squanto returned in 1612 with Captain John Smith. A few years later, one of Smith's former officers tried to sell him into slavery, even though Smith let him go. The Pilgrims settled on where his former village was. He taught them how to cultivate the land and acted as an ambassador (of sorts) between the Pilgrims and the surrounding tribes. Nearly sold into slavery again, he managed to return to England and live there a few more years, learning more English during that time. 1619, he returned to his native region and had contact with the Pilgrims a few years later (this reminds me of the Biblical character Joseph).

As the video will show, the first Thanksgiving was celebrated with a feast and giving God thanks for His provision. On December 26, 1941 (almost 3 weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack), President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Day of Thanksgiving into law. Since 1942, Thanksgiving has been celebrated on the last Thursday in November. The foods served for the modern Thanksgiving dinner is reflected in part by that first feast.

Thanksgiving, from a historical point:






Fun food videos:




This is a MUST for Thanksgiving:


Turducken (a TURkey, stuffed with a DUCK, stuffed with a chicKEN). This is unique to the southern US and is actually a yearly dish. You can kill three birds with one stone: