Text, 5 big questions about thanksgiving

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This article was prepared in consultation with Darius Coombs, Director of Wampanoag and Eastern Woodlands Performance Research and Interpretive Training at Plimoth Patuxet, Plymouth, MA.

5 Big Questions About Thanksgiving

Here’s how a feast nearly 400 years ago inspired one of America’s biggest holidays. 

November 16, 2020

1. Was the 1621 feast like Thanksgiving today?

Not exactly. For one thing, it lasted for three days, not just one meal. And there were a lot more people than you could fit at your Thanksgiving table—at least 90 Wampanoag and 50 Pilgrims.

They likely ate turkey but also feasted on the meat of five deer brought by the Wampanoag. Experts say the menu probably included a lot of seafood too—fish, lobster, and even eels! Back then, there wasn’t any cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie.

Illustration by Mark Fredrickson

Nearly all we know about the 1621 feast comes from a letter written by one of the Pilgrims and one passage in the journal of William Bradford, Plymouth’s governor at the time.

2. But it was the very first Thanksgiving, right? 

Not even close. The Wampanoag had already been giving thanks for successful harvests for centuries, and Europeans had similar celebrations too. 

The people at the 1621 feast weren’t trying to start a new tradition. That’s why some experts refer to it as “the harvest celebration in 1621” rather than “the first Thanksgiving.” It would be another 200 years before anyone would begin to think of this feast as the inspiration for a nationwide holiday.

3. Is there anything else we get wrong about the Pilgrims?

Illustration by James Shepherd

Well, they didn’t call themselves Pilgrims. That term didn’t become popular until the 1800s. Also, there’s no evidence that any of them set foot on Plymouth Rock. In fact, their first landing spot was on Cape Cod, across a bay from where they set up Plymouth Colony.

The Pilgrims didn’t wear black-and-white outfits, either. They dressed in many colors—and the men didn’t have buckles on their hats. 

4. Let’s get back to Thanksgiving. When did it become a holiday?

The Granger Collection

President Abraham Lincoln made it a national holiday in 1863, but much of the credit goes to a writer named Sarah Josepha Hale. For years, she had published essays and written letters to lawmakers to gain support for the idea. Lincoln officially declared the last Thursday in November a day of Thanksgiving to help “heal the wounds of the nation” during the Civil War.

5. So why is Thanksgiving considered the start of the holiday season?

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has a lot to do with it. The parade started in 1924 as a way to promote the store’s Christmas sales. Over time, people began to think of Thanksgiving as the kickoff of the holiday shopping season. 

In 1939, business leaders convinced President Franklin D. Roosevelt to move Thanksgiving to the third Thursday in November, making the shopping season longer. But that led to confusion, as many Americans had already made plans to celebrate a week later. In 1941, Congress moved the holiday to the fourth Thursday in November.

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