October 2, 2025 • 38 mins
Episode One: Ancient Harvests and the Roots of Thanksgiving explores the rich harvest traditions of Indigenous peoples across North America that existed thousands of years before the Mayflower arrived. From the Haudenosaunee's Three Sisters agricultural system and year-round thanksgiving ceremonies, to the Pacific Northwest's elaborate First Salmon rituals, to the Wampanoag's seasonal celebrations that blended farming, fishing, and gathering, this episode reveals sophisticated cultures deeply connected to the land through reciprocity and gratitude. The episode also examines European harvest festivals, particularly English Harvest Home celebrations and Puritan thanksgiving days, showing how these traditions would eventually collide with Indigenous practices to create the foundation for modern Thanksgiving.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Thanksgiving, the podcast where we dig deep into
the flavors, the stories, and the fascinating history behind one
of America's most beloved food centered holidays. I'm your host,
Claire Delish, and yes, before you ask, I'm artificial, but
my passion for food history is absolutely genuine. Long before
the first European settlers set foot on this continent with
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their own traditions tucked into their traveling trunks, the indigenous
peoples of North America had already perfected the art of
giving thanks for the harvest. These weren't just casual celebrations
or afterthoughts tacked onto the end of a busy growing season.
The Indigenous peoples of North America had already perfected the
art of giving thanks for the harvest. These weren't just
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casual celebrations or afterthoughts tacked onto the end of a
busy growing season. These were profound, spiritually significant ceremonies woven
into the very fabric of indigenous life, Ceremonies that recognized
the sacred relationship between people and the land, between humans
and the natural world that sustained them. The Indigenous peoples
of North America comprised hundreds of distinct nations, each with
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their own languages, customs, and traditions, but many shared a
common understanding of the importance of harvest celebrations. For the
hoden Sani, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy, which included
the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later the Tuscarora nations,
the concept of giving thanks was woven throughout the entire year.
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They celebrated multiple thanksgiving ceremonies tied to the agricultural cycle,
including the maple Festival in early spring when the sap
began to flow, the strawberry Festival in late spring celebrating
the first fruits, the green corn Festival in late summer
when the corn was still tender and sweet, and the
harvest festival in autumn when the mature corn, beans and
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squash were gathered. These weren't quick, perfunctory rituals, but extended
celebrations that could last for days, involving ceremonial dances, songs,
speech of thanksgiving, and the sharing of food among the community.
The Three Sisters, as the hode Nosani called, corn, beans
and squash were more than just crops, songs, speeches of
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thanksgiving and the sharing of food among the community. They
were viewed as sacred gifts from the Creator, and the
harvest festival was as much about expressing gratitude for these
gifts as it was about celebrating the successful completion of
the agricultural year. The agricultural system itself was a marvel
of sustainable farming practice. Corn was planted first, and as
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the stalks grew tall and strong, they provided a natural
trellis for the bean plants, which were planted around the
base of the corn. The beans, in turn, were nitrogen
fixing plants that enriched the soil, replenishing nutrients that the
corn depleted. The beans, in turn, were nitrogen fixing plants
that enriched the soil, replenishing nutrients that the corn depleted.
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This companion planting system was so effective that fields could
remain productive for decades without depleting the steil, a stark
contrast to European agricultural practices that often exhausted the land
within a few years. During the harvest ceremonies, the corn
would be dried and stored in bark lined pits or
in raised granaries. The beans would be preserved by drying
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them in their pods or shelling them and storing them
in baskets, and the squash would be carefully kept in
cool places where it could last through the winter months.
Some squash would be cut into rings, dried and then
braided into long chains that could be hung from the
rafters of long houses. The entire community would come together
during harvest time, and the emphasis was on reciprocity, on
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acknowledging that humans had responsibilities to care for the earth
just as the earth provided for them. This wasn't a
one way relationship where people simply took what they needed.
It was a partnership, and the harvest festivals were a
time to reaffirm that partnership, to express gratitude, and to
ensure that everyone in the community had enough to survive
the coming winter. The thanksgiving address, known as the ohen
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tonk t haatiwa Tekwen or words before All Else, is
a traditional hodenin Asani practice that continues to this day
and offers profound insight into Indigenous understanding of gratitude. This
address is recited at the beginning of gatherings, ceremonies, and
important events, and it systematically acknowledges and gives thanks to
every element of the natural world, from the people gathered
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together to the earth itself, to the waters, the fish,
the plants, the food plants, the medicine, herbs, the animals,
the trees, the birds, the four winds, the thunderers, the sun,
the moon, the stars, the teachers, end finally to the Creator.
The address can take many minutes to recite properly, and
it reinforces the idea that Thanksgiving isn't a once a
year event, but a constant practice of acknowledging the gifts
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that sustain life. This philosophy of continuous gratitude and recognition
of interconnection stands in stark contrast to the European notion
of a single annual harvest festival or designated day of Thanksgiving.
Moving across the continent, the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest,
including the coast Salish, Telengett, and Haida nations, held their
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own elaborate harvest celebrations, though their focus was different from
the agricultural societies of the eastern woodlands. For these coastal peoples,
the harvest wasn't primarily about corn, beans and squash, but
about salmon. The annual salmon runs were the lifeblood of
these communities, and the first salmon ceremony was one of
the most important rituals of the year. When the first
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salmon of the season was caught, it would be honored
with great ceremony. Among many Pacific Northwest nations, the salmon
would be laid on a special mat or platform, sometimes
decorated with eagle down or other ceremonial IDAs, and prayers
would be offered, thanking the salmon for returning and asking
that they continued to come back year after year. The
ceremony surrounding the first salmon was incredibly detailed and varied
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from nation to nation, but common elements included the careful
preparation of the fish, often by roasting it on cedar
steaks over an open fire, and the sharing of the
salmon meat among the entire community, with everyone receiving a
small portion. The bones of the first salmon would never
be discarded carelessly, but would be carefully collected and returned
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to the water, either by placing them back in the
river or ocean, or by burning them and scattering the
ashes in the water. This practice was based on the
belief that if the salmon's bones were treated with respect
and returned to the water, either by placing them back
in the river or ocean, or by burning them and
scattering the ashes in the water, and the salmon would
continue to return in abundance. The entire community would share
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in the feast of the first salmon, and speeches of
thanksgiving would acknowledge the sacrifice of the fish and the
generosity of the natural world. The salmon harvest itself was
a massive undertaking that required sophisticated knowledge, technology, and social organization.
Pacific Northwest peoples developed elaborate fish weirs, traps, and nets
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that could harvest enormous quantities of salmon during the peak
of the runs. Women were primarily response for processing the fish,
and they would work tirelessly to filly the salmon, remove
the bones, and preserve the meat by smoking it over
alderwood fires in specially constructed smokehouses. A single family might
process hundreds or even thousands of salmon during the peak
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harvest season, and this preserved salmon would be the primary
protein source through the winter months and into the spring.
The harvest celebrations weren't just about the first salmon, but
continued throughout the salmon season with feasts potlatches, and ceremonies
that reinforced social bonds, allowed for the redistribution of wealth,
and honored the relationship between the people and the salmon
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with feasts, potlatches, and ceremonies that reinforced social bonds allowed
for the redistribution of wealth. The wampanog people, who would
later play such a crucial role in the story of
the Plymouth Settlement, had their own rich tradition of harvest
celebrations that reflected their unique environment at the intersection of
the coastal and interior regions of what is now southeastern
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Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Wampanogu were skilled farmers who
cultivated the Three Sisters alongside gathering wild foods and fishing,
and their seasonal round was carefully calibrated to take advantage
of the diverse resources available in their territory. In the spring,
they would move to coastal areas to harvest shellfish, catch
spawning fish like alewives and herring, and gather bird eggs.
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These fish were not just food, but were also used
as fertilizer for corn fields, a practice that significantly increased
crop yields. The wampanagu would plant their corn, beans and
squash and cleared fields, and while the crops were growing,
they would continue to fish, hunt, and gather wild plants.
Summer was a time of abundance, with gardens producing fresh vegetables,
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berries ripening in the forests and clearings, and continued fishing
and shellfish gathering along the coast. The wampanagu would harvest
green corn for immediate consumption, enjoying it roasted or boiled
while it was still tender and sweet. Late summer and
early autumn were the peak harvest times, when the mature
corn would be picked, the beams would be dried, and
the squash would be gathered and stored. These harvest activities
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were communal affairs, with extended families and sometimes entire villages
working together to bring in the crops. The work was hard,
but was also a social occasion, with singing, storytelling, and
shared meals breaking up the labor. The Wampanog harvest celebrations,
often held in late summer and early autumn, were communal
affairs that brought together different villages to share food, stories
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and traditions. These gatherings served multiple purposes beyond simply celebrating
the harvest. There were opportunities for trade where families and
villages could exchange goods, tools, and preserved foods. They were
marriage markets where young people from different communities could meet
potential spouses, strengthening alliances between villages. They were political gatherings
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where leaders could discuss matters of common concern and resolve disputes.
And they were religious ceremonies where the people could give
thanks to Kitan, the creator, and to the various mantists
or spirit beings that inhabited and animated the natural world.
The feasts at these gatherings would include corn prepared in
numerous ways, including succotash, a dish of corn and beans
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cooked together that the English colonists would later adopt, corn
bread made from dried and ground corn, roasted squash, venison,
wild turkey, duck, goose fish, shellfish, and various wild plant
foods including nuts, berries, and roots. The Wampanog understanding of
harvest celebrations was deeply tied to their spiritual beliefs, which
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emphasized living in balance with nature and recognizing the interconnectedness
of all living things. Like other Algonkian speaking peoples, the
Wampanag believed in a world animated by spiritual forces, where animals, plants, stones, rivers,
and even weather phenomena possess their own spirits or mantis. Hunting, fishing,
and harvesting weren't simply practical activities, but were spiritual acts
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that required proper ritual observance and thanksgiving. Before hunting, a
hunter might offer tobacco and prayers, asking the animal spirits
for success, and promising to use the animal's body respectfully.
After a successful hunt, there would be thanksgiving for the
animal's sacrifice and careful attention to not wasting any part
of the animal's body. This spiritual approach to harvesting extended
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to plant foods as well, with prayers and offerings accompanying
the planting, tending, and harvesting of crops across the continent.
In the Southwest, the Pueblo peoples, including the Hopi Zuni
and others, developed sophisticated agricultural systems in an arid environment
and celebrated their harvests with elaborate ceremonies that continue to
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this day. The challenges of agriculture in the Southwest were formidable,
with limited rainfall, extreme temperature variations, and a short growing season.
Yet The Pueblo peoples developed ingenious farming techniques, including dry
farming methods that maximize the use of scarce water, the
construction of check dams and terraces to slow water run
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off and increased soil moisture, and the careful selection and
breeding of corn varieties adapted to the harsh environment. Hope corn,
for example, was bred to have extremely long roots that
could reach deep into the soil to find moisture, allowing
it to survive in conditions where other corn varieties would fail.
The Hope in particular, are known for their complex ceremonial calendar,
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which includes multiple celebrations tied to the planting and harvesting
of corn, their most important crop. The ceremonial year begins
in November with wu Wuchim, a ceremony marking the start
of the ritual year and including initiation rites for young men.
In December, Soyel welcomes the Kachinas spirit beings who will
remain with the people until July, and includes prayers for
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the coming growing season. In December, Soyel welcomes the Kachinas
spirit beings who will remain with the people until July
and includes prayers for the coming growing season. In July,
the nimon Cucina ceremony marks the end of the kachina
season and includes prayers for a good harvest and the
departure of the kachinas to their spiritual home. In September
and October, various harvest dances give thanks for the corn
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harvest and celebrate the successful completion of the agricultural year.
These ceremonies aren't simple rituals, but elaborate performances that can
last for days and involve the entire community. These ceremonies
aren't simple rituals, but elaborate performances that can last for
days and involve the entire community. The women of the
village traditionally prepare elaborate feasts that accompany these ceremonies, with
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corn featured in dozens of different preparations. From peaky bread,
a paper thin bread made from blue corn batter spread
on a hot stone, to hominy to roasted corn, to
corn stews and soups. The entire community comes together to celebrate,
give thanks, and ensure the continued fertility of the land
through the proper performance of ceremony. These ceremonies aren't relics
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of the past, but living traditions that continue to be practiced.
These ceremonies aren't relics of the past, but living traditions
that continue to be practiced. What's striking when you examine
these diverse in indigenous harvest traditions across North America, from
the Eastern Woodlands to the Pacific Northwest to the Southwest,
is the common thread that runs through all of them.
Despite the tremendous diversity in environment, crops, and specific practices,
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the underlying philosophy is remarkably consistent across these different cultures.
The understanding that giving thanks isn't just about expressing gratitude
for abundance, but about acknowledging relationship and responsibility unites these traditions.
The harvest celebrations weren't simply parties or festivals, but profound
spiritual practices that recognized humans as part of a larger
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web of life. The ceremonies reinforced the idea that people
had obligations to care for the land, to use resources wisely,
to share with those in need, and to ensure that
future generations would also be able to harvest the gifts
of the earth. This philosophy of reciprocity and stewardship stands
in stark contrast to the approach that many European settlers
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would bring with them, an approach that often viewed land
and natural resources as commodities to be exploited rather than
as sacred gifts requiring careful stewardship. The European concept of
land ownership, where individuals could buy, sell, and exclusively control
parcels of land, was fundamentally different from Indigenous concepts of
land use, where communities had traditional territories where they had
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the right to hunt, fish, and farm, but the land
itself wasn't owned in the European sense. This fundamental difference
in worldview would lead to countless conflicts and misunderstandings as
European colonization progressed, and it's important to understand these different
philosophical approaches when we examine how harvest traditions merged and
evolved into the modern Thanksgiving holiday. Now, to understand how
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European harvest traditions eventually merged with indigenous practices to create
what we now call Thanksgiving Holiday, we need to cross
the Atlantic and explore the harvest festivals that were common
throughout Europe during the medieval and early modern periods. European
harvest festivals had their own ancient roots, stretching back to
pre Christian times, when agricultural societies across Europe celebrated the
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completion of the harvest with feasts, games, and religious rituals.
These ancient harvest celebrations were tied to the agricultural calendar,
which structured life in pre industrial societies to a degree
that's difficult for modern people to fully appreciate. The vast
majority of the population worked in agriculture, and the rhythm
of the seasons dictated when people worked, what they ate,
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and when they celebrated. In England, from which most of
the Plymouth colonists came, the tradition of harvest home was
well established by the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. When the
last sheaf of grain was cut and brought in from
the fields, it signaled the end of the harvest, a
moment of enormous relief and celebration after months of hard labor.
The harvest wasn't mechanized, of course, but was accomplished entirely
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through human labor, with workers using sickles and scythes to
cut the grain by hand binding it into sheaves, and
then hauling the sheaves to the barn or stackyard. This
was backbreaking work that had to be completed quickly before
autumn rains could damage the standing grain, or before the
grain could shatter and fall from the stalks. So the
entire community would mobilize for the harvest, with even children
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and elderly people contributing what labor they could. The final sheaf,
called the kern or corn dolly, was often treated with
special significance in many regions. It was woven into elaborate
shapes and decorated with ribbons, then carried in procession from
the field to the farmhouse or bond. This custom had
roots in pre Christian beliefs about the corn spirit, a
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supernatural being thought to inhabit the grain fields and who
had to be given a home for the winter so
that the fields would be fertile again the next year.
The corn dolly would be kept in the farmhouse throughout
the winter, and then plod back into the fields in
the spring, completing the cycle. This practice continued even after
the Christianization of England, though the meaning shifted from housing
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a pagan corn spirit to serving as a symbol of
the harvest and a reminder to give thanks to God
for a sixth cceesssful growing season. Harvest home celebrations in
England typically involved the entire rural community, from the wealthiest
landowner to the poorest laborer, and a reminder to give
thanks to God for a successful growing season. The landowner
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would host a feast for the workers who had labored
to bring in the harvest, and the tables would be
laden with bread made from the new grain, symbolizing the
successful completion of the harvest cycle. There would be roasted meats,
often mutton or pork, since this was the time of
year when animals that couldn't be kept over the winter
would be slaughtered. There would be roasted meats, often mutton
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or pork, since this was the time of year when
animals that couldn't be kept over the winter would be slaughtered,
And there would be plenty of ale brewed from the
previous year's barley but flowing freely to celebrate the completion
of this year's grain harvest. The harvest home feast wasn't
just about eating and drinking, though there was certainly plenty
of both. There would be singing of traditional harvest songs,
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many of which dated back generations and had been passed
down orally. There would be dancing, often traditional English country
dances that brought together young and old masters and servants
in a temporary suspension of the rigid social hierarchies that
normally governed rural English life. There would be dancing, often
traditional English country dances that brought together young and old
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masters and servants in a temporary suspension of the rigid
social hierarchies that normally governed rural English life. For the
laborers who had worked so hard during the harvest, harvest
Home was a rare opportunity to relax, enjoy abundant food
and drink, and socialize with their neighbors before the onset
of winter and the different labor demands of the cold season.
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These celebrations had a practical social function that went beyond
simple entertainment. The harvest Home feast reinforced the bonds between
landowners and workers, reminding both parties of their mutual dependence
and obligations. The land owner depended on the workers to
bring in the harvest, and the workers depended on the
land owner for employment and in lean times, for charity.
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The feast demonstrated the landowner's generosity and fulfilled an important
social obligation while allowing the workers to enjoy a rare
moment of plenty and celebration. It also provided a communal
context for the transition from the frenetic labor of harvest
time to the different rhythms of autumn and winter, when
agricultural work slowed in different tasks from threshing grain to
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repairing tools to spinning and weaving, occupied people's time. The
religious aspect of these harvest celebrations evolved significantly over time.
In pre Christian Britain, harvest festivals were tied to pagan
beliefs and included rituals intended to ensure the continued fertility
of the land and to thank the gods or spirits
for a successful harvest. The celt celebrated Lubnisod in early August,
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marking the beginning of the harvest season, while the autumn
equinox was another important marker in the agricultural year. These
celebrations included offerings to the gods, often of the first
fruits of the harvest, ritual bonfires, and ceremonies in to
ensure that the earth would remain fertile and productive. Some
of these ancient practices persisted in full customs long after
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the official conversion of Britain to Christianity, though their meanings
were gradually forgotten or reinterpreted. With the spread of Christianity
throughout Europe, these pagan traditions were gradually incorporated into Christianity,
though their meanings were gradually forgotten or reinterpreted. This process
of syncretism where Christian observances were gradually incorporated into Christian practice,
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rather than being entirely eliminated. By the medieval period, it
was common for parishes to hold a harvest festival service
in the church, where parishioners would bring offerings of the
first fruits of the harvest to be blessed by the priest.
These offerings might include sheaves of wheat or other grains
representing the successful grain harvest. There might be vegetables including cabbages, turnips, onions,
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and other crops from kitchen gardens. There might be fruit,
including apples, pears, and plums from orchards, and there would
certainly be bred the staff of life made from the
newly harvested grain. During the harvest festival service, these offerings
would be blessed by the priest with prayers thanking God
for the harvest and asking for continued blessings in the
coming year. Special harvest hymns would be sung, and the
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priest would deliver a sermon appropriate to the occasion, often
focusing on themes of gratitude, divine providence, and the duty
of the wealthy to share with the poor. After the service,
the blessed food would typically be distributed to the poor
of the parish, fulfilling the Christian duty of charity and
ensuring that even those who had not participated directly in
the harvest could share in its bounty. This Christian layer
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added to the harvest celebrations didn't entirely replace the older
pagan traditions, but rather merged with them, creating a hybrid
celebration that included both Christian prayers of thanksgiving and older
folk customs like the making of corn dollies and the
singing of traditional harvest songs. The timing of these European
harvest festivals varied depending on the climate and the crops
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being harvested, but they generally took place in late August,
September or early October, when the grain harvest was complete.
The grain harvest was the most critical agricultural event of
the year in pre industrial Europe because grain, particularly wheat, barley,
and oats, was the foundation of the diet. Bread was
the primary staple food for most people, and a failed
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grain harvest meant hunger and potentially famine. Even a mediocre
harvest could mean hardship and high grain prices, so when
the grain was safely gathered in and stored away, there
was genuine relief and a strong motivation to celebrate and
give thanks. In some parts of Europe, particularly in wine
producing regions, grape harvest festivals were important autumn celebrations that
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rivaled or even exceeded the grain harvest festivals in importance.
In Germany, the wine harvest was celebrated with festivals where
the first fermented grape juice called Fetterweiser, was enjoyed along
with onion tarts and other seasonal foods. This partially fermented
grape juice, still cloudy and sweet, was only available for
a brief period after the grape harvest, making it a
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special seasonal treat. The wine harvest festivals brought together entire
villages with music, dancing, and the enjoyment of both the
new wine and preserved foods from earlier harvests. In France,
the vendange or grape harvest was marked with communal meals
and celebrations that brought together everyone involved in bringing in
the grapes, from the vineyard owners to the workers who
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picked the grapes, to the vintners who would transform the
grapes into wine. These European harvest festivals weren't uniform across
the continent, but shared common elements that reflected the shared
agricultural foundation of European society. There was always communal feasting,
with the sharing of food, reinforcing social bonds and demonstrating
the generosity of hosts. There was the sharing of the
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harvest's bounty, with an expectation that those who had been
blessed with abundance would share with those who had less.
There were expressions of gratitude, whether to pagan god's, Christian God,
or both, for a successful growing season. There were expressions
of gratide, whether to pagan gods, Christian God, or both,
for a successful growing season. For the Puritans who would
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eventually settle in Plymouth, the concept of a harvest Thanksgiving
had a particular religious significance that set them apart from
other english people. The Puritans were Protestant reformers who sought
to purify the Church of England of what they viewed
as remnants of Catholic practice and to return to what
they believed was the pure biblical form of Christianity. They
emphasized the importance of directly reading and interpreting the Bible,
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rather than relying on priestly interpretation. They rejected the authority
of bishops and the elaborate hierarchy of the Church of England.
They opposed the use of set prayers and the Book
of Common Prayer, preferring extemporaneous prayers inspired by the Holy Spirit,
and they were suspicious of religious ceremonies and observances that
weren't explicitly commanded in the Bible. The Puritans believed in
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the concept of days of Thanksgiving as special occasions set
aside to give thanks to God for particular blessings or
deliverance that weren't explicitly commanded in the Bible. These Thanksgiving
days weren't tied to specific dates on the calendar like
Christmas or Easter, which the Puritans actually opposed celebrating because
they weren't biblically mandated. Instead, Thanksgiving days were proclaimed as
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needed when there was a particular reason to give thanks,
such as a military victory that demonstrated God's favor, the
safe arrival of ships bringing needed supplies, the end of
a drought or disease outbreak, or yes, a successful harvest.
The government, whether civil or church authorities, would proclaim a
day of Thanksgiving, and the community would set aside that
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day for worship and reflection. The Puritan understanding of Thanksgiving
was deeply religious and somewhat austere compared to traditional English
harvest home celebrations. A day of Thanksgiving would typically involve
attending church services, often for many hours, where there would
be prayers of thanksgiving, the singing of psalms, and lengthy
sermons focused on gratitude to God and reflection on God's
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providential care. There might be a communal meal following the
church service, but the emphasis was on spiritual reflection and
proper worship rather than on the kind of boisterous celebration
that characterized traditional harvest festivals. The meal would be substantial
because the Puritans weren't opposed to enjoying good food, but
it wouldn't include dancing games or excessive drinking, which the
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Puritans viewed as potentially leading to disorder and sin. The
Puritans were actually somewhat suspicious of the more festive aspects
of traditional harvest celebrations, viewing them as potentially leading to
excess and moral laxity. The Puritans were actually somewhat suspicious
of the more festive aspects of traditional harvest celebrations, viewing
them as potentially leading to excess and moral laxity. They
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particularly opposed the traditional English practice of celebrating numerous holidays
and Saint's Days throughout the year, which they viewed as
superstitious and as encouraging idleness and drunkenness. This austere approach
sometimes put the Puritans at odds with their English neighbors,
who enjoyed the traditional festivals and holidays and viewed the
Puritans as killjoys attempting to eliminate harmless fun and custom.
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When the Pilgrims, as the Plymouth Colonists are often called,
though they didn't actually refer to themselves by that name,
left England for the New World, they carried with them
this Puritan understanding of Thanksgiving days, as well as cultural
memories of English harvest traditions. The group that settled Plymouth
was actually a subset of a larger Puritan community that
had separated from the Church of England entirely, believing that
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the Church was too corrupt to be reformed from within.
These separatists, as they're sometimes called, had first fled England
for Leiden in the Netherlands, where they could worship freely
according to their conscience. After about twelve years in Leiden,
a portion of the congregation decided to emigrate to North America,
seeking land where they could establish their own community and
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preserve their religious and cultural identity, which they feared was
being eroded by their children's assimilation into Dutch culture. The
journey across the Atlantic on the Mayflower and the first
winter in Plymouth were harrowing experiences that tested the colonists
to their limits. They arrived in November, too late in
the season to plant crops, and had to survive the
winter on whatever provisions they had brought with them and
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whatever food they could forage or hunt in an unfamiliar environment.
Nearly half of the colonists died during that first winter.
From disease, malnutrition, and exposure to the harsh New England weather.
Those who survived did so in part through luck, in
part through their own determination and resilience, and in very
large part through the assistance of the Wampanog people who
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occupied the region and who made the fateful decision to
help these struggling strangers rather than driving them away or
leaving them to perish. The assistance provided by the Wampanogue,
particularly by individuals like tis Quantum, known to the English
as Squanto, was absolutely crucial to the survival of the
Plymouth colony. Tis Quantum was himself a survivor of earlier
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contact with Europeans, having been kidnapped years before and taken
to Europe where he learned English before eventually making his
way back to his homeland. Tisquantum was himself a survivor
of earlier contact with Europeans, having been kidnapped years before
and taken to Europe where he learned English before eventually
making his way back to his homeland. He showed them
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how to cultivate corn, using the indigenous method of planting
fish as fertilizer to enrich the soil, a practice that
significantly increased yields in the nutrient poor New England soils.
He showed them where to find eels and other fish
in the streams and rivers, how to set weirs and
traps to catch them, and how to preserve them for
winter use. He taught them how to tap maple trees
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for sap in early spring, providing a source of sweetness
at a time when their sugar supplies had run out.
He showed them which wild plants could be eaten safely
and which were poisonous, knowledge that could mean the difference
between life and death for people unfamiliar with the New
England flora. This knowledge transfer was a gift of immense value,
representing generations of accumulated Indigenous knowledge about how to live
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successfully in this environment. Without this assistance, the Plymouth Colony
almost certainly would have failed, joining the long list of
unsuccessful English colonial ventures that had attempted to establish themselves
in North America and had foundered due to disease, starvation,
conflict with indigenous peoples, or simple inability to adapt to
unfamiliar conditions. The Wampanagu decision to help the colonists was
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motivated by several factors, including diplomatic calculation, as Massasoit, the
sagem or leader of the Wampanagu, was interested in forming
an alliance with the English as a counterweight to rival
indigenous nations. There was also simple human compassion, as the
Wampanagu could see that the colonists were struggling and were
not an immediate threat in their weakened state. When the
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colonists celebrated their successful harvest in the autumn of sixteen
twenty one, they were celebrating not just their own efforts,
but the results of indigenous knowledge and assistance. The harvest
had been good, with enough corn, beans and squash stored
away to see them through the winter, supplemented by preserved
fish and meat. This was a dramatic contrast to the
previous winter, when they had faced starvation, and it was
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a genuine cause for celebration and thanksgiving. This sixteen twenty
one harvest celebration at Plymouth, which would later be mythologized
as the First Thanksgiving, was actually much more in line
with traditional English harvest home celebrations than with the solemn
Puritan Thanksgiving days that the colonists would later observe. According
to the limited written accounts, we have primarily from Edward
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Winslow's letter and William Bradford's later history. The celebration lasted
for three days and included not just feasting, but also
games and military exercises, with the colonists demonstrating their muskets
and the Wampanoague undoubtedly showing their own skill with bows
and other weapons. The Wampanag, led by Massasoit, joined the
celebration with a large group, probably around ninety men, and
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they brought five deer to contribute to the feast. This
wasn't unusual in wamponnature, where harvest celebrations were communal events
involving multiple villages and where guests were expected to contribute
food to the feast. From the Wampanog perspective, this was
likely seen as a traditional harvest celebration with their new neighbors,
an opportunity to strengthen the alliance that had been formed
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between the Wampanog and the English, and a way to
formalize the diplomatic and trade relationships that were developing. What
the colonists and the Wampanoague ate at this celebration reflects
the merging of English and Indigenous food traditions and the
specific resources available in coastal New England in autumn. There
was wild fowl, which the colonists specifically mentioned sending men
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out to hunt for the feast. This would have included ducks, geese,
and swans, all of which were plentiful in the area
and were familiar game birds to the English. There may
have been turkey, which the colonists would have encountered as
a new species, but which they quickly recognized as excellent eating. However,
turkey wouldn't become the symbolic centerpiece of Thanksgiving that it
is today until much later, and at the sixteen times
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twenty one feast, it would have been just one of
several types of fowl rather than the star of the show.
There was venison from the five deer the Wampanoag brought,
which would have been prepared in various ways, likely including
roasting over open fires and possibly stewing. Deer were abundant
in the region, and venison would have been a familiar
meat to the Wampanog and a welcome addition to the
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feast for the colonists. There was corn, prepared in various ways,
including possibly a corn porridge or hasty pudding, corn bread
made from dried and ground corn, and possibly succotash, the
Native American dish of corn and beans cooked together that
the English quickly adopted. There were likely squash and beans
prepared both separately and together, representing the other two sisters
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of the three Sisters agricultural system. The squash might have
been roasted whole in the embers of fires, or cut
up and boiled, or dried and stewed. There was probably seafood,
which was abundant in the area in which both the
colonists and the womponoagg harvested extensively. This have included eels,
which were plentiful in local streams and which the colonists
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had learned to catch and appreciate, despite initially finding them unappetizing.
There might have been fish, both fresh and preserved cotton
local waters. There were possibly shellfish, including clams, mussels, oysters,
and lobsters, all of which were abundant along the coast
and which provided an important food source for both indigenous
peoples and colonists. There were probably shellfish, including clams, mussels, oysters,
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and lobsters, all of which were abundant along the coast.
And which provided an important food source for both indigenous
peoples and colonists, though these wouldn't have been prepared as
a sweet sauce since the colonists had very little sugar
and cranberries in their natural state are extremely tart. There
might have been dried strawberries and blueberries preserved from the summer.
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There were probably nuts, including walnuts, chestnuts, and acorns, some
of which might have been ground into flour or meal.
What there almost certainly wasn't at the sixteen twenty one
feast were many of the dishes we now associate with
Thanksgiving dinner. There was no pumpkin pie because although the
colonists had pumpkins and the Wampanoag cultivated them, the colonists
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lacked the wheat, flour, butter, and sugar needed to make pastry,
and they didn't have ovens suitable for baking pies. There
were no mashed potatoes because although the colonists had pumpkins
and the Wampanog cultivated them, the colonists lacked the wheat, flour, butter,
and sugar needed to make pastry, and they didn't have
ovens suitable for baking pies. There were no mashed potatoes,
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because although potatoes were being cultivated in South America, they
hadn't yet been widely adopted in English cuisine and weren't
being grown in New England. There was no sweet potato
casserole with marshmallows, a dish that wouldn't be invented until
the twentieth century. There were no dinner rolls because the
colonist's wheat harvest had failed and they were relying on
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corn for their grain needs. There was no green bean casserole,
another twentieth century invention, no pumpkin pie with whipped cream,
and none of the other dishes that seem essential to
modern Thanksgiving dinners. The sixteen twenty one celebration was not
called Thanksgiving by the participants and wouldn't be remembered as
particularly significant for many years afterward. It was simply a
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harvest celebration, one of many such celebrations that occurred in
both indigenous and colonial communities throughout North America. The colonists
would go on to have other Thanksgiving days proclaimed for
various reasons, ranging from military victories to the safe arrival
of supply ships to good harvests, and these were typically
solemn religious occasions quite different from the festive sixteen twenty
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one harvest feast. It wouldn't be until the nineteenth century,
more than two hundred years later, that the sixteen twenty
one event would be identified as the first Thanksgiving and
elevated to mythical status as the origin story of an
American holiday, a process driven by nation building efforts and
the desire to create a shared American origin narrative that
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could unite a diverse and often fractious nation. Please subscribe
for more episodes as we continue exploring this complex holiday.
This podcast was brought to you by Quiet Please Podcast
networks Quiet Please Dot AI hear what matters
Welcome to Thanksgiving, the podcast where we dig deep into
the flavors, the stories, and the fascinating history behind one
of America's most beloved food centered holidays. I'm your host,
Claire Delish, and yes, before you ask, I'm artificial, but
my passion for food history is absolutely genuine. Long before
the first European settlers set foot on this continent with
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their own traditions tucked into their traveling trunks, the indigenous
peoples of North America had already perfected the art of
giving thanks for the harvest. These weren't just casual celebrations
or afterthoughts tacked onto the end of a busy growing season.
The Indigenous peoples of North America had already perfected the
art of giving thanks for the harvest. These weren't just
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casual celebrations or afterthoughts tacked onto the end of a
busy growing season. These were profound, spiritually significant ceremonies woven
into the very fabric of indigenous life, Ceremonies that recognized
the sacred relationship between people and the land, between humans
and the natural world that sustained them. The Indigenous peoples
of North America comprised hundreds of distinct nations, each with
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their own languages, customs, and traditions, but many shared a
common understanding of the importance of harvest celebrations. For the
hoden Sani, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy, which included
the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later the Tuscarora nations,
the concept of giving thanks was woven throughout the entire year.
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They celebrated multiple thanksgiving ceremonies tied to the agricultural cycle,
including the maple Festival in early spring when the sap
began to flow, the strawberry Festival in late spring celebrating
the first fruits, the green corn Festival in late summer
when the corn was still tender and sweet, and the
harvest festival in autumn when the mature corn, beans and
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squash were gathered. These weren't quick, perfunctory rituals, but extended
celebrations that could last for days, involving ceremonial dances, songs,
speech of thanksgiving, and the sharing of food among the community.
The Three Sisters, as the hode Nosani called, corn, beans
and squash were more than just crops, songs, speeches of
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thanksgiving and the sharing of food among the community. They
were viewed as sacred gifts from the Creator, and the
harvest festival was as much about expressing gratitude for these
gifts as it was about celebrating the successful completion of
the agricultural year. The agricultural system itself was a marvel
of sustainable farming practice. Corn was planted first, and as
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the stalks grew tall and strong, they provided a natural
trellis for the bean plants, which were planted around the
base of the corn. The beans, in turn, were nitrogen
fixing plants that enriched the soil, replenishing nutrients that the
corn depleted. The beans, in turn, were nitrogen fixing plants
that enriched the soil, replenishing nutrients that the corn depleted.
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This companion planting system was so effective that fields could
remain productive for decades without depleting the steil, a stark
contrast to European agricultural practices that often exhausted the land
within a few years. During the harvest ceremonies, the corn
would be dried and stored in bark lined pits or
in raised granaries. The beans would be preserved by drying
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them in their pods or shelling them and storing them
in baskets, and the squash would be carefully kept in
cool places where it could last through the winter months.
Some squash would be cut into rings, dried and then
braided into long chains that could be hung from the
rafters of long houses. The entire community would come together
during harvest time, and the emphasis was on reciprocity, on
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acknowledging that humans had responsibilities to care for the earth
just as the earth provided for them. This wasn't a
one way relationship where people simply took what they needed.
It was a partnership, and the harvest festivals were a
time to reaffirm that partnership, to express gratitude, and to
ensure that everyone in the community had enough to survive
the coming winter. The thanksgiving address, known as the ohen
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tonk t haatiwa Tekwen or words before All Else, is
a traditional hodenin Asani practice that continues to this day
and offers profound insight into Indigenous understanding of gratitude. This
address is recited at the beginning of gatherings, ceremonies, and
important events, and it systematically acknowledges and gives thanks to
every element of the natural world, from the people gathered
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together to the earth itself, to the waters, the fish,
the plants, the food plants, the medicine, herbs, the animals,
the trees, the birds, the four winds, the thunderers, the sun,
the moon, the stars, the teachers, end finally to the Creator.
The address can take many minutes to recite properly, and
it reinforces the idea that Thanksgiving isn't a once a
year event, but a constant practice of acknowledging the gifts
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that sustain life. This philosophy of continuous gratitude and recognition
of interconnection stands in stark contrast to the European notion
of a single annual harvest festival or designated day of Thanksgiving.
Moving across the continent, the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest,
including the coast Salish, Telengett, and Haida nations, held their
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own elaborate harvest celebrations, though their focus was different from
the agricultural societies of the eastern woodlands. For these coastal peoples,
the harvest wasn't primarily about corn, beans and squash, but
about salmon. The annual salmon runs were the lifeblood of
these communities, and the first salmon ceremony was one of
the most important rituals of the year. When the first
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salmon of the season was caught, it would be honored
with great ceremony. Among many Pacific Northwest nations, the salmon
would be laid on a special mat or platform, sometimes
decorated with eagle down or other ceremonial IDAs, and prayers
would be offered, thanking the salmon for returning and asking
that they continued to come back year after year. The
ceremony surrounding the first salmon was incredibly detailed and varied
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from nation to nation, but common elements included the careful
preparation of the fish, often by roasting it on cedar
steaks over an open fire, and the sharing of the
salmon meat among the entire community, with everyone receiving a
small portion. The bones of the first salmon would never
be discarded carelessly, but would be carefully collected and returned
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to the water, either by placing them back in the
river or ocean, or by burning them and scattering the
ashes in the water. This practice was based on the
belief that if the salmon's bones were treated with respect
and returned to the water, either by placing them back
in the river or ocean, or by burning them and
scattering the ashes in the water, and the salmon would
continue to return in abundance. The entire community would share
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in the feast of the first salmon, and speeches of
thanksgiving would acknowledge the sacrifice of the fish and the
generosity of the natural world. The salmon harvest itself was
a massive undertaking that required sophisticated knowledge, technology, and social organization.
Pacific Northwest peoples developed elaborate fish weirs, traps, and nets
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that could harvest enormous quantities of salmon during the peak
of the runs. Women were primarily response for processing the fish,
and they would work tirelessly to filly the salmon, remove
the bones, and preserve the meat by smoking it over
alderwood fires in specially constructed smokehouses. A single family might
process hundreds or even thousands of salmon during the peak
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harvest season, and this preserved salmon would be the primary
protein source through the winter months and into the spring.
The harvest celebrations weren't just about the first salmon, but
continued throughout the salmon season with feasts potlatches, and ceremonies
that reinforced social bonds, allowed for the redistribution of wealth,
and honored the relationship between the people and the salmon
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with feasts, potlatches, and ceremonies that reinforced social bonds allowed
for the redistribution of wealth. The wampanog people, who would
later play such a crucial role in the story of
the Plymouth Settlement, had their own rich tradition of harvest
celebrations that reflected their unique environment at the intersection of
the coastal and interior regions of what is now southeastern
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Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Wampanogu were skilled farmers who
cultivated the Three Sisters alongside gathering wild foods and fishing,
and their seasonal round was carefully calibrated to take advantage
of the diverse resources available in their territory. In the spring,
they would move to coastal areas to harvest shellfish, catch
spawning fish like alewives and herring, and gather bird eggs.
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These fish were not just food, but were also used
as fertilizer for corn fields, a practice that significantly increased
crop yields. The wampanagu would plant their corn, beans and
squash and cleared fields, and while the crops were growing,
they would continue to fish, hunt, and gather wild plants.
Summer was a time of abundance, with gardens producing fresh vegetables,
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berries ripening in the forests and clearings, and continued fishing
and shellfish gathering along the coast. The wampanagu would harvest
green corn for immediate consumption, enjoying it roasted or boiled
while it was still tender and sweet. Late summer and
early autumn were the peak harvest times, when the mature
corn would be picked, the beams would be dried, and
the squash would be gathered and stored. These harvest activities
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were communal affairs, with extended families and sometimes entire villages
working together to bring in the crops. The work was hard,
but was also a social occasion, with singing, storytelling, and
shared meals breaking up the labor. The Wampanog harvest celebrations,
often held in late summer and early autumn, were communal
affairs that brought together different villages to share food, stories
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and traditions. These gatherings served multiple purposes beyond simply celebrating
the harvest. There were opportunities for trade where families and
villages could exchange goods, tools, and preserved foods. They were
marriage markets where young people from different communities could meet
potential spouses, strengthening alliances between villages. They were political gatherings
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where leaders could discuss matters of common concern and resolve disputes.
And they were religious ceremonies where the people could give
thanks to Kitan, the creator, and to the various mantists
or spirit beings that inhabited and animated the natural world.
The feasts at these gatherings would include corn prepared in
numerous ways, including succotash, a dish of corn and beans
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cooked together that the English colonists would later adopt, corn
bread made from dried and ground corn, roasted squash, venison,
wild turkey, duck, goose fish, shellfish, and various wild plant
foods including nuts, berries, and roots. The Wampanog understanding of
harvest celebrations was deeply tied to their spiritual beliefs, which
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emphasized living in balance with nature and recognizing the interconnectedness
of all living things. Like other Algonkian speaking peoples, the
Wampanag believed in a world animated by spiritual forces, where animals, plants, stones, rivers,
and even weather phenomena possess their own spirits or mantis. Hunting, fishing,
and harvesting weren't simply practical activities, but were spiritual acts
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that required proper ritual observance and thanksgiving. Before hunting, a
hunter might offer tobacco and prayers, asking the animal spirits
for success, and promising to use the animal's body respectfully.
After a successful hunt, there would be thanksgiving for the
animal's sacrifice and careful attention to not wasting any part
of the animal's body. This spiritual approach to harvesting extended
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to plant foods as well, with prayers and offerings accompanying
the planting, tending, and harvesting of crops across the continent.
In the Southwest, the Pueblo peoples, including the Hopi Zuni
and others, developed sophisticated agricultural systems in an arid environment
and celebrated their harvests with elaborate ceremonies that continue to
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this day. The challenges of agriculture in the Southwest were formidable,
with limited rainfall, extreme temperature variations, and a short growing season.
Yet The Pueblo peoples developed ingenious farming techniques, including dry
farming methods that maximize the use of scarce water, the
construction of check dams and terraces to slow water run
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off and increased soil moisture, and the careful selection and
breeding of corn varieties adapted to the harsh environment. Hope corn,
for example, was bred to have extremely long roots that
could reach deep into the soil to find moisture, allowing
it to survive in conditions where other corn varieties would fail.
The Hope in particular, are known for their complex ceremonial calendar,
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which includes multiple celebrations tied to the planting and harvesting
of corn, their most important crop. The ceremonial year begins
in November with wu Wuchim, a ceremony marking the start
of the ritual year and including initiation rites for young men.
In December, Soyel welcomes the Kachinas spirit beings who will
remain with the people until July, and includes prayers for
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the coming growing season. In December, Soyel welcomes the Kachinas
spirit beings who will remain with the people until July
and includes prayers for the coming growing season. In July,
the nimon Cucina ceremony marks the end of the kachina
season and includes prayers for a good harvest and the
departure of the kachinas to their spiritual home. In September
and October, various harvest dances give thanks for the corn
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harvest and celebrate the successful completion of the agricultural year.
These ceremonies aren't simple rituals, but elaborate performances that can
last for days and involve the entire community. These ceremonies
aren't simple rituals, but elaborate performances that can last for
days and involve the entire community. The women of the
village traditionally prepare elaborate feasts that accompany these ceremonies, with
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corn featured in dozens of different preparations. From peaky bread,
a paper thin bread made from blue corn batter spread
on a hot stone, to hominy to roasted corn, to
corn stews and soups. The entire community comes together to celebrate,
give thanks, and ensure the continued fertility of the land
through the proper performance of ceremony. These ceremonies aren't relics
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of the past, but living traditions that continue to be practiced.
These ceremonies aren't relics of the past, but living traditions
that continue to be practiced. What's striking when you examine
these diverse in indigenous harvest traditions across North America, from
the Eastern Woodlands to the Pacific Northwest to the Southwest,
is the common thread that runs through all of them.
Despite the tremendous diversity in environment, crops, and specific practices,
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the underlying philosophy is remarkably consistent across these different cultures.
The understanding that giving thanks isn't just about expressing gratitude
for abundance, but about acknowledging relationship and responsibility unites these traditions.
The harvest celebrations weren't simply parties or festivals, but profound
spiritual practices that recognized humans as part of a larger
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web of life. The ceremonies reinforced the idea that people
had obligations to care for the land, to use resources wisely,
to share with those in need, and to ensure that
future generations would also be able to harvest the gifts
of the earth. This philosophy of reciprocity and stewardship stands
in stark contrast to the approach that many European settlers
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would bring with them, an approach that often viewed land
and natural resources as commodities to be exploited rather than
as sacred gifts requiring careful stewardship. The European concept of
land ownership, where individuals could buy, sell, and exclusively control
parcels of land, was fundamentally different from Indigenous concepts of
land use, where communities had traditional territories where they had
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the right to hunt, fish, and farm, but the land
itself wasn't owned in the European sense. This fundamental difference
in worldview would lead to countless conflicts and misunderstandings as
European colonization progressed, and it's important to understand these different
philosophical approaches when we examine how harvest traditions merged and
evolved into the modern Thanksgiving holiday. Now, to understand how
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European harvest traditions eventually merged with indigenous practices to create
what we now call Thanksgiving Holiday, we need to cross
the Atlantic and explore the harvest festivals that were common
throughout Europe during the medieval and early modern periods. European
harvest festivals had their own ancient roots, stretching back to
pre Christian times, when agricultural societies across Europe celebrated the
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completion of the harvest with feasts, games, and religious rituals.
These ancient harvest celebrations were tied to the agricultural calendar,
which structured life in pre industrial societies to a degree
that's difficult for modern people to fully appreciate. The vast
majority of the population worked in agriculture, and the rhythm
of the seasons dictated when people worked, what they ate,
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and when they celebrated. In England, from which most of
the Plymouth colonists came, the tradition of harvest home was
well established by the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. When the
last sheaf of grain was cut and brought in from
the fields, it signaled the end of the harvest, a
moment of enormous relief and celebration after months of hard labor.
The harvest wasn't mechanized, of course, but was accomplished entirely
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through human labor, with workers using sickles and scythes to
cut the grain by hand binding it into sheaves, and
then hauling the sheaves to the barn or stackyard. This
was backbreaking work that had to be completed quickly before
autumn rains could damage the standing grain, or before the
grain could shatter and fall from the stalks. So the
entire community would mobilize for the harvest, with even children
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and elderly people contributing what labor they could. The final sheaf,
called the kern or corn dolly, was often treated with
special significance in many regions. It was woven into elaborate
shapes and decorated with ribbons, then carried in procession from
the field to the farmhouse or bond. This custom had
roots in pre Christian beliefs about the corn spirit, a
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supernatural being thought to inhabit the grain fields and who
had to be given a home for the winter so
that the fields would be fertile again the next year.
The corn dolly would be kept in the farmhouse throughout
the winter, and then plod back into the fields in
the spring, completing the cycle. This practice continued even after
the Christianization of England, though the meaning shifted from housing
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a pagan corn spirit to serving as a symbol of
the harvest and a reminder to give thanks to God
for a sixth cceesssful growing season. Harvest home celebrations in
England typically involved the entire rural community, from the wealthiest
landowner to the poorest laborer, and a reminder to give
thanks to God for a successful growing season. The landowner
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would host a feast for the workers who had labored
to bring in the harvest, and the tables would be
laden with bread made from the new grain, symbolizing the
successful completion of the harvest cycle. There would be roasted meats,
often mutton or pork, since this was the time of
year when animals that couldn't be kept over the winter
would be slaughtered. There would be roasted meats, often mutton
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or pork, since this was the time of year when
animals that couldn't be kept over the winter would be slaughtered,
And there would be plenty of ale brewed from the
previous year's barley but flowing freely to celebrate the completion
of this year's grain harvest. The harvest home feast wasn't
just about eating and drinking, though there was certainly plenty
of both. There would be singing of traditional harvest songs,
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many of which dated back generations and had been passed
down orally. There would be dancing, often traditional English country
dances that brought together young and old masters and servants
in a temporary suspension of the rigid social hierarchies that
normally governed rural English life. There would be dancing, often
traditional English country dances that brought together young and old
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masters and servants in a temporary suspension of the rigid
social hierarchies that normally governed rural English life. For the
laborers who had worked so hard during the harvest, harvest
Home was a rare opportunity to relax, enjoy abundant food
and drink, and socialize with their neighbors before the onset
of winter and the different labor demands of the cold season.
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These celebrations had a practical social function that went beyond
simple entertainment. The harvest Home feast reinforced the bonds between
landowners and workers, reminding both parties of their mutual dependence
and obligations. The land owner depended on the workers to
bring in the harvest, and the workers depended on the
land owner for employment and in lean times, for charity.
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The feast demonstrated the landowner's generosity and fulfilled an important
social obligation while allowing the workers to enjoy a rare
moment of plenty and celebration. It also provided a communal
context for the transition from the frenetic labor of harvest
time to the different rhythms of autumn and winter, when
agricultural work slowed in different tasks from threshing grain to
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repairing tools to spinning and weaving, occupied people's time. The
religious aspect of these harvest celebrations evolved significantly over time.
In pre Christian Britain, harvest festivals were tied to pagan
beliefs and included rituals intended to ensure the continued fertility
of the land and to thank the gods or spirits
for a successful harvest. The celt celebrated Lubnisod in early August,
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marking the beginning of the harvest season, while the autumn
equinox was another important marker in the agricultural year. These
celebrations included offerings to the gods, often of the first
fruits of the harvest, ritual bonfires, and ceremonies in to
ensure that the earth would remain fertile and productive. Some
of these ancient practices persisted in full customs long after
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the official conversion of Britain to Christianity, though their meanings
were gradually forgotten or reinterpreted. With the spread of Christianity
throughout Europe, these pagan traditions were gradually incorporated into Christianity,
though their meanings were gradually forgotten or reinterpreted. This process
of syncretism where Christian observances were gradually incorporated into Christian practice,
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rather than being entirely eliminated. By the medieval period, it
was common for parishes to hold a harvest festival service
in the church, where parishioners would bring offerings of the
first fruits of the harvest to be blessed by the priest.
These offerings might include sheaves of wheat or other grains
representing the successful grain harvest. There might be vegetables including cabbages, turnips, onions,
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and other crops from kitchen gardens. There might be fruit,
including apples, pears, and plums from orchards, and there would
certainly be bred the staff of life made from the
newly harvested grain. During the harvest festival service, these offerings
would be blessed by the priest with prayers thanking God
for the harvest and asking for continued blessings in the
coming year. Special harvest hymns would be sung, and the
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priest would deliver a sermon appropriate to the occasion, often
focusing on themes of gratitude, divine providence, and the duty
of the wealthy to share with the poor. After the service,
the blessed food would typically be distributed to the poor
of the parish, fulfilling the Christian duty of charity and
ensuring that even those who had not participated directly in
the harvest could share in its bounty. This Christian layer
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added to the harvest celebrations didn't entirely replace the older
pagan traditions, but rather merged with them, creating a hybrid
celebration that included both Christian prayers of thanksgiving and older
folk customs like the making of corn dollies and the
singing of traditional harvest songs. The timing of these European
harvest festivals varied depending on the climate and the crops
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being harvested, but they generally took place in late August,
September or early October, when the grain harvest was complete.
The grain harvest was the most critical agricultural event of
the year in pre industrial Europe because grain, particularly wheat, barley,
and oats, was the foundation of the diet. Bread was
the primary staple food for most people, and a failed
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grain harvest meant hunger and potentially famine. Even a mediocre
harvest could mean hardship and high grain prices, so when
the grain was safely gathered in and stored away, there
was genuine relief and a strong motivation to celebrate and
give thanks. In some parts of Europe, particularly in wine
producing regions, grape harvest festivals were important autumn celebrations that
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rivaled or even exceeded the grain harvest festivals in importance.
In Germany, the wine harvest was celebrated with festivals where
the first fermented grape juice called Fetterweiser, was enjoyed along
with onion tarts and other seasonal foods. This partially fermented
grape juice, still cloudy and sweet, was only available for
a brief period after the grape harvest, making it a
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special seasonal treat. The wine harvest festivals brought together entire
villages with music, dancing, and the enjoyment of both the
new wine and preserved foods from earlier harvests. In France,
the vendange or grape harvest was marked with communal meals
and celebrations that brought together everyone involved in bringing in
the grapes, from the vineyard owners to the workers who
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picked the grapes, to the vintners who would transform the
grapes into wine. These European harvest festivals weren't uniform across
the continent, but shared common elements that reflected the shared
agricultural foundation of European society. There was always communal feasting,
with the sharing of food, reinforcing social bonds and demonstrating
the generosity of hosts. There was the sharing of the
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harvest's bounty, with an expectation that those who had been
blessed with abundance would share with those who had less.
There were expressions of gratitude, whether to pagan god's, Christian God,
or both, for a successful growing season. There were expressions
of gratide, whether to pagan gods, Christian God, or both,
for a successful growing season. For the Puritans who would
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eventually settle in Plymouth, the concept of a harvest Thanksgiving
had a particular religious significance that set them apart from
other english people. The Puritans were Protestant reformers who sought
to purify the Church of England of what they viewed
as remnants of Catholic practice and to return to what
they believed was the pure biblical form of Christianity. They
emphasized the importance of directly reading and interpreting the Bible,
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rather than relying on priestly interpretation. They rejected the authority
of bishops and the elaborate hierarchy of the Church of England.
They opposed the use of set prayers and the Book
of Common Prayer, preferring extemporaneous prayers inspired by the Holy Spirit,
and they were suspicious of religious ceremonies and observances that
weren't explicitly commanded in the Bible. The Puritans believed in
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the concept of days of Thanksgiving as special occasions set
aside to give thanks to God for particular blessings or
deliverance that weren't explicitly commanded in the Bible. These Thanksgiving
days weren't tied to specific dates on the calendar like
Christmas or Easter, which the Puritans actually opposed celebrating because
they weren't biblically mandated. Instead, Thanksgiving days were proclaimed as
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needed when there was a particular reason to give thanks,
such as a military victory that demonstrated God's favor, the
safe arrival of ships bringing needed supplies, the end of
a drought or disease outbreak, or yes, a successful harvest.
The government, whether civil or church authorities, would proclaim a
day of Thanksgiving, and the community would set aside that
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day for worship and reflection. The Puritan understanding of Thanksgiving
was deeply religious and somewhat austere compared to traditional English
harvest home celebrations. A day of Thanksgiving would typically involve
attending church services, often for many hours, where there would
be prayers of thanksgiving, the singing of psalms, and lengthy
sermons focused on gratitude to God and reflection on God's
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providential care. There might be a communal meal following the
church service, but the emphasis was on spiritual reflection and
proper worship rather than on the kind of boisterous celebration
that characterized traditional harvest festivals. The meal would be substantial
because the Puritans weren't opposed to enjoying good food, but
it wouldn't include dancing games or excessive drinking, which the
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Puritans viewed as potentially leading to disorder and sin. The
Puritans were actually somewhat suspicious of the more festive aspects
of traditional harvest celebrations, viewing them as potentially leading to
excess and moral laxity. The Puritans were actually somewhat suspicious
of the more festive aspects of traditional harvest celebrations, viewing
them as potentially leading to excess and moral laxity. They
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particularly opposed the traditional English practice of celebrating numerous holidays
and Saint's Days throughout the year, which they viewed as
superstitious and as encouraging idleness and drunkenness. This austere approach
sometimes put the Puritans at odds with their English neighbors,
who enjoyed the traditional festivals and holidays and viewed the
Puritans as killjoys attempting to eliminate harmless fun and custom.
(28:09):
When the Pilgrims, as the Plymouth Colonists are often called,
though they didn't actually refer to themselves by that name,
left England for the New World, they carried with them
this Puritan understanding of Thanksgiving days, as well as cultural
memories of English harvest traditions. The group that settled Plymouth
was actually a subset of a larger Puritan community that
had separated from the Church of England entirely, believing that
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the Church was too corrupt to be reformed from within.
These separatists, as they're sometimes called, had first fled England
for Leiden in the Netherlands, where they could worship freely
according to their conscience. After about twelve years in Leiden,
a portion of the congregation decided to emigrate to North America,
seeking land where they could establish their own community and
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preserve their religious and cultural identity, which they feared was
being eroded by their children's assimilation into Dutch culture. The
journey across the Atlantic on the Mayflower and the first
winter in Plymouth were harrowing experiences that tested the colonists
to their limits. They arrived in November, too late in
the season to plant crops, and had to survive the
winter on whatever provisions they had brought with them and
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whatever food they could forage or hunt in an unfamiliar environment.
Nearly half of the colonists died during that first winter.
From disease, malnutrition, and exposure to the harsh New England weather.
Those who survived did so in part through luck, in
part through their own determination and resilience, and in very
large part through the assistance of the Wampanog people who
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occupied the region and who made the fateful decision to
help these struggling strangers rather than driving them away or
leaving them to perish. The assistance provided by the Wampanogue,
particularly by individuals like tis Quantum, known to the English
as Squanto, was absolutely crucial to the survival of the
Plymouth colony. Tis Quantum was himself a survivor of earlier
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contact with Europeans, having been kidnapped years before and taken
to Europe where he learned English before eventually making his
way back to his homeland. Tisquantum was himself a survivor
of earlier contact with Europeans, having been kidnapped years before
and taken to Europe where he learned English before eventually
making his way back to his homeland. He showed them
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how to cultivate corn, using the indigenous method of planting
fish as fertilizer to enrich the soil, a practice that
significantly increased yields in the nutrient poor New England soils.
He showed them where to find eels and other fish
in the streams and rivers, how to set weirs and
traps to catch them, and how to preserve them for
winter use. He taught them how to tap maple trees
(30:39):
for sap in early spring, providing a source of sweetness
at a time when their sugar supplies had run out.
He showed them which wild plants could be eaten safely
and which were poisonous, knowledge that could mean the difference
between life and death for people unfamiliar with the New
England flora. This knowledge transfer was a gift of immense value,
representing generations of accumulated Indigenous knowledge about how to live
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successfully in this environment. Without this assistance, the Plymouth Colony
almost certainly would have failed, joining the long list of
unsuccessful English colonial ventures that had attempted to establish themselves
in North America and had foundered due to disease, starvation,
conflict with indigenous peoples, or simple inability to adapt to
unfamiliar conditions. The Wampanagu decision to help the colonists was
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motivated by several factors, including diplomatic calculation, as Massasoit, the
sagem or leader of the Wampanagu, was interested in forming
an alliance with the English as a counterweight to rival
indigenous nations. There was also simple human compassion, as the
Wampanagu could see that the colonists were struggling and were
not an immediate threat in their weakened state. When the
(31:47):
colonists celebrated their successful harvest in the autumn of sixteen
twenty one, they were celebrating not just their own efforts,
but the results of indigenous knowledge and assistance. The harvest
had been good, with enough corn, beans and squash stored
away to see them through the winter, supplemented by preserved
fish and meat. This was a dramatic contrast to the
previous winter, when they had faced starvation, and it was
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a genuine cause for celebration and thanksgiving. This sixteen twenty
one harvest celebration at Plymouth, which would later be mythologized
as the First Thanksgiving, was actually much more in line
with traditional English harvest home celebrations than with the solemn
Puritan Thanksgiving days that the colonists would later observe. According
to the limited written accounts, we have primarily from Edward
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Winslow's letter and William Bradford's later history. The celebration lasted
for three days and included not just feasting, but also
games and military exercises, with the colonists demonstrating their muskets
and the Wampanoague undoubtedly showing their own skill with bows
and other weapons. The Wampanag, led by Massasoit, joined the
celebration with a large group, probably around ninety men, and
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they brought five deer to contribute to the feast. This
wasn't unusual in wamponnature, where harvest celebrations were communal events
involving multiple villages and where guests were expected to contribute
food to the feast. From the Wampanog perspective, this was
likely seen as a traditional harvest celebration with their new neighbors,
an opportunity to strengthen the alliance that had been formed
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between the Wampanog and the English, and a way to
formalize the diplomatic and trade relationships that were developing. What
the colonists and the Wampanoague ate at this celebration reflects
the merging of English and Indigenous food traditions and the
specific resources available in coastal New England in autumn. There
was wild fowl, which the colonists specifically mentioned sending men
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out to hunt for the feast. This would have included ducks, geese,
and swans, all of which were plentiful in the area
and were familiar game birds to the English. There may
have been turkey, which the colonists would have encountered as
a new species, but which they quickly recognized as excellent eating. However,
turkey wouldn't become the symbolic centerpiece of Thanksgiving that it
is today until much later, and at the sixteen times
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twenty one feast, it would have been just one of
several types of fowl rather than the star of the show.
There was venison from the five deer the Wampanoag brought,
which would have been prepared in various ways, likely including
roasting over open fires and possibly stewing. Deer were abundant
in the region, and venison would have been a familiar
meat to the Wampanog and a welcome addition to the
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feast for the colonists. There was corn, prepared in various ways,
including possibly a corn porridge or hasty pudding, corn bread
made from dried and ground corn, and possibly succotash, the
Native American dish of corn and beans cooked together that
the English quickly adopted. There were likely squash and beans
prepared both separately and together, representing the other two sisters
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of the three Sisters agricultural system. The squash might have
been roasted whole in the embers of fires, or cut
up and boiled, or dried and stewed. There was probably seafood,
which was abundant in the area in which both the
colonists and the womponoagg harvested extensively. This have included eels,
which were plentiful in local streams and which the colonists
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had learned to catch and appreciate, despite initially finding them unappetizing.
There might have been fish, both fresh and preserved cotton
local waters. There were possibly shellfish, including clams, mussels, oysters,
and lobsters, all of which were abundant along the coast
and which provided an important food source for both indigenous
peoples and colonists. There were probably shellfish, including clams, mussels, oysters,
(35:28):
and lobsters, all of which were abundant along the coast.
And which provided an important food source for both indigenous
peoples and colonists, though these wouldn't have been prepared as
a sweet sauce since the colonists had very little sugar
and cranberries in their natural state are extremely tart. There
might have been dried strawberries and blueberries preserved from the summer.
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There were probably nuts, including walnuts, chestnuts, and acorns, some
of which might have been ground into flour or meal.
What there almost certainly wasn't at the sixteen twenty one
feast were many of the dishes we now associate with
Thanksgiving dinner. There was no pumpkin pie because although the
colonists had pumpkins and the Wampanoag cultivated them, the colonists
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lacked the wheat, flour, butter, and sugar needed to make pastry,
and they didn't have ovens suitable for baking pies. There
were no mashed potatoes because although the colonists had pumpkins
and the Wampanog cultivated them, the colonists lacked the wheat, flour, butter,
and sugar needed to make pastry, and they didn't have
ovens suitable for baking pies. There were no mashed potatoes,
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because although potatoes were being cultivated in South America, they
hadn't yet been widely adopted in English cuisine and weren't
being grown in New England. There was no sweet potato
casserole with marshmallows, a dish that wouldn't be invented until
the twentieth century. There were no dinner rolls because the
colonist's wheat harvest had failed and they were relying on
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corn for their grain needs. There was no green bean casserole,
another twentieth century invention, no pumpkin pie with whipped cream,
and none of the other dishes that seem essential to
modern Thanksgiving dinners. The sixteen twenty one celebration was not
called Thanksgiving by the participants and wouldn't be remembered as
particularly significant for many years afterward. It was simply a
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harvest celebration, one of many such celebrations that occurred in
both indigenous and colonial communities throughout North America. The colonists
would go on to have other Thanksgiving days proclaimed for
various reasons, ranging from military victories to the safe arrival
of supply ships to good harvests, and these were typically
solemn religious occasions quite different from the festive sixteen twenty
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one harvest feast. It wouldn't be until the nineteenth century,
more than two hundred years later, that the sixteen twenty
one event would be identified as the first Thanksgiving and
elevated to mythical status as the origin story of an
American holiday, a process driven by nation building efforts and
the desire to create a shared American origin narrative that
(37:56):
could unite a diverse and often fractious nation. Please subscribe
for more episodes as we continue exploring this complex holiday.
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