Thursday, November 27, 2008

Some Thanksgiving History



My mother always maintained that the first Thanksgiving took place in Virginia. She was a Virginia lady who loved the Commonwealth's history. So I'm going to share a bit of that history here. Supposedly, the first Thanksgiving in America took place in 1619, two years before the colonists arrived in Massachusetts.

Capt. John Woodlief, a survivor of the Jamestown settlement's "starving time" who had returned to England, set sail with 37 other settlers on the good ship Margaret to seek their fortune in the New World. After a violent storm blew them off course, they waded ashore Dec. 4, 1619 at what is now Berkeley Plantation. They opened their orders from their backers, which stated that they were to drop to their knees immediately and give thanks. Their landing date was to "be yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God."

Whether they prayed the General Thanksgiving prayer is a supposition. But that prayer is a good one: "Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men.

We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory."

No one knows if they had anything other than old ship rations to eat. Historians surmise that they might have supped on roasted oysters and Virginia ham. Others say their feast included bacon, peas, cornmeal cakes, and cinnamon water. But regardless of the menu, to these settlers, the first Thanksgiving was much more than turkey and pumpkin pie. It was all about prayer.

And regardless of who can claim the first Thanksgiving, this day is more than just our feast. It's about being together and giving thanks. Here's wishing you happiness on this day.

16 comments:

  1. I hope you have a great day as well Syd. Thanks for that little bit of history. As you may know, I'm reading a book by Lee Miller on the lost colony of Roanoke. It's quite interesting and took place in the late 1580s. I guess if they would have survived they might have been considered the first colonists.

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  2. thank you! and happiness to you too!

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  3. I did not know this! Thank you! Wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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  4. What a beautiful history lesson and thank you. I agree...all about prayer and thanks today.

    Have a wonderful day.

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  5. Thank you and much of the greatest happiness and love to you on this day!!! Hope your Thanksgiving is great!

    With gratitude, G~*

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  6. I never heard that version before. I think I like it the best. Have a nice Thanksgiving Syd.

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  8. Thank you for the cool history lesson. I hope your anniversary and thanksgiving were filled with love, warmth, happiness and gratitude. I am thankful for your blog.

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  9. Well, I'm sure there are a few old Yankee ladies from a different Commonwealth that would beg to differ with your Grandmother but I loved the history lesson...and I agree with you...there is more to it than who was first and what we eat...prayers of thanks and celebrating our unity. We had a quiet Thanksgiving as well and I would have preferred a full house but it was special nonetheless because every day that I am sober is special.

    Oh..and Happy Anniversary!

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  10. Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Belated Anniversary!

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  11. I love the prayer. Thanks for sharing. Hope you had a nice day today.

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  12. Always more to learn. Thank you. It's great to be sober, and enjoy blogs, and Turkey...

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  13. Hi Syd,
    We dont do Thanksgiving here in the UK which is sad really, maybe we should so we can concentrate our grattitude to that day and make us realise how lucky we all are.
    Yes Betty didnt give me a hug, she just gets flustered, she is off again today and once again I am in the company of Ms Bickerdyke and she looks really well this morning, I am feeling a bit well full of other thoughts talking to her.
    Thanks for the history, it was real interesting and I hope you have a great weekend

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  14. Right, Syd. Hope yours was happy and blessed. It's not about the food. I just loved being with the family, especially as it's growing, adding new partners, entirely new partners, new families to the mix. But when the food is good, well, no one complains.

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