Thanksgiving is one of the faved holidays of the year in the United States, in part due to the focus on food without all the gift buying of Christmas.
Did you know....Sharing some facts about Thanksgiving that aren't always mentioned or known. Test your knowledge of this celebrated holiday!
Thanksgiving History
For the pilgrims, Thanksgiving marked a time of celebration of harvest and blessings in a new land. For the many Indigenous people, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of colonization.
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving. Taking place in October 1621, 90 Wampanoag and 53 Pilgrims shared a feast that lasted for three days.
The Wampanoags, whose name means “People of the First Light” in their native language, lived in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the beginning of the 17th century when first contact with the English colonists was made.
The Wampanoag Nation once numbered between 30,000 to 100,000. From 1615 to 1619, the Wampanoag suffered an epidemic caused by leptospira bacteria and spreads by rat urine.
The disease was brought to North America on an explorers' ship. Known as “The Great Dying” the disease killed two-thirds of the people. It is said that the main reason the pilgrims were able to settle in Plymouth is because so many Wampanoag had died, leaving few to defend their land.
Today Wampanoag people encompass five officially recognized tribes and are known for their beadwork, wood carvings, and baskets.
Thanksgiving - The Early Days
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 and lasted for three-days. The second Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1623 after a long draught.
Becoming a National Holiday
While Thanksgiving had been celebrated since 1621, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it an official national holiday in 1863.
A Holiday in the US and Canada
Thanksgiving is an annual national holiday in both the United States and Canada, and has been marked as a day of celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year.
Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving during the second weekend of October on a Monday. Americans celebrate on the fourth Thursday of November.
Photo by Sean Benesh
