What’s the real story behind Thanksgiving?
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag 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.
Does Thanksgiving have a dark history?
Quite the contrary: the dark history of Thanksgiving is surrounded by tales of blood, brutality, and slaughter. … More specifically, however, it is often said that the current American tradition of Thanksgiving dates back to the establishment of the Plymouth Colony in what today is Massachusetts, in 1620.
Why should we not celebrate Thanksgiving?
They hate Thanksgiving and don’t celebrate it because they view it as religious or a holiday where the pilgrims stole the land from the Native Americans. … As mentioned before, most people that don’t celebrate Thanksgiving do so because it is viewed as a national day of mourning, according to Independent.
Is Thanksgiving offensive to indigenous?
“Thanksgiving day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the relentless assault on Native culture,” says the United American Indians of New England. They’ve marked the occasion as a day of mourning for 48 years, according to Native Hope.
Did the Pilgrims get along with the natives?
The Native Americans welcomed the arriving immigrants and helped them survive. Then they celebrated together, even though the Pilgrims considered the Native Americans heathens. The Pilgrims were devout Christians who fled Europe seeking religious freedom.
Why is turkey eaten on Thanksgiving?
But there is no indication that turkey was served. … For meat, the Wampanoag brought deer, and the Pilgrims provided wild “fowl.” Strictly speaking, that “fowl” could have been turkeys, which were native to the area, but historians think it was probably ducks or geese.
Why is Thanksgiving on a Thursday?
A couple years after Lincoln’s proclamation (which he announced as an attempt to unite the country during the Civil War) in 1865 President Andrew announced the first Thursday of the month as the official Thanksgiving Day. Then in 1869 President Ulysses S. Grant declared the third Thursday in November as the holiday.