Show Thanksgiving Tradition Evolves from Original Holiday Celebration First Plymouth Winter Killed Nearly Half of Colonists Jody Genessy Staff Writer IMAGINE that plump juicy turkey sitting on the platter Makes a person want to drool doesn't it But before students stuff themselves themselves themselves them them- selves with turkey and all the fixings fixings fixings fix fix- ings lets let's take a look at the first Thanksgiving We all have our ideas of the first Thanksgiving In elementary school we dressed up as Pilgrims and Indians We sang danced and prayed Those were the good ol of days In James Loewens Loewen's book bookies Lies ies My Teacher Told Me he describes describes describes de de- de- de scribes the typical Thanksgiving as related in one high school history history history his his- tory book After some exploring the Pilgrims Pilgrims Pilgrims Pil Pil- grims chose the land around Plymouth harbor for their settle settle- ment Unfortunately they arrived in December and were not prepared prepared prepared pre pre- pared for the New England winter However they were aided by friendly Indians who gave them food and showed them how to grow corn com When warm weather came the colonists planted fished hunted and prepared themselves for the next winter After harvesting their first crop they and their Indian frien friends s celebrated celebrated cele cele- the first Thanksgiving In reality the first winter killed nearly early half of the colony The Black Plague was vicious killing between 90 percent to 96 percent percept of the inhabitants of southern New England in a year three-year span Loewen said In the summer of 1621 the first com corn harvest brought rejoicing and Massachusetts Gov William Bradford proclaimed a three-day three celebration On July 30 1623 Thanksgiving ing was established to celebrate feast and pray Pilgrims and Indians Indians Indians Indi Indi- ans were invited and it was an exchange of cultural foods Indians Indians Indians Indi Indi- ans brought wild turkeys venison venison venison veni veni- son and Indian pudding The Pilgrims Pilgrims Pilgrims Pil Pil- grims brought geese duck and fish The meat was served with journey cake corn meal with nuts and succotash It was not the first celebration of the sort though World Book Encyclopedia states that harvest- harvest home celebrations were held in England Loewen wrote that In Indians Indians Indians In- In also celebrated the harvest with feasts Thanksgiving was celebrated by Americans throughout the following following following fol fol- fol- fol lowing centuries and was officially officially officially offic offic- made a holiday by Pres Abraham Linc Lincoln ln in 1863 He set it on the last Thursday of November November November No No- vember as a day of thanksgiving ing and praise to our beneficent Father Sarah Josepha Hale author of Mary Had a Little Lamb worked for several years to promote it as a In 1939 Pres Franklin Delano Delano Delano Del Del- ano Roosevelt set it one week earlier to help businesses have an extra week of Christmas sales but Congress voted it back to the fourth week in 1941 |