THE FIRST
THANKSGIVING
We see them as a dour
lot all clad in black, with stern and unsmiling faces, but the Pilgrims could kick up their heels too. They liked to
sing and dance not to mention play games and drink lots of beer. Those are some
of the surprises guests discover at the annual Eat Like a Pilgrim event at
Lehi’s Thanksgiving Point on the 27 Nov. The celebration highlights traditions
associated with the Thanksgiving fest of1621.
The Puritans came to Plymouth
Massachusetts somber, more than 10 years later. They’re the ones who don’t
dance or read plays. The pilgrims in contrast were much livelier.
Our own glorious turkey
and pie fest that is just two days away is much like the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims,
settled in Massachusetts in 1620, The Wampanoag made themselves known to the
Pilgrims after they arrived in December 1620. They indicated they were
interested in trading, helping them cultivate and grow food. At this point in
history, the two groups have a mutual dependency on one another and get along
well, but in years to follow, some native tribes are viewed as allies and
others are regarded as enemies. They enjoyed music, singing, and contra dances which
were popular in England at the time. After every one smoked the peace pipe, they
all got the munchies, and that’s how Thanksgiving was invented. The world was
colorful after the smoking. It certainly wasn’t black and white. Forget about
those dreary black and white garbed folks you colored in your school days, think
color instead, lots of bright colors like blues, mauves, rusts and pinks colors
that take when you dye cloth with woad. Black fabric would have been very
expensive because it requires so much dye. The only ones wearing black would were
people like lawyers, and preachers. As for buckles that ever popular Pilgrim
accessory they actually were seldom if worn and only on shoes. Think about it,
would you trade a lot of expensive trinkets to the Indians just for just a
little buckle?
The Wampanoag were the
native Indians. The Pilgrims leader Edward Winslow’s account of the First
Thanksgiving is one of only two historical records existing of the event. He
mentions that 90 members out of 300 of the tribe were present including chief
Massasoit. That means the Indians outnumbered the Pilgrims at the smoking, beer
drinking feast, because only about half of the approximately 100 passengers
arriving on the Mayflower survived the first year. Venison was on the menu, but
no pie. Virtually none of the stuff we eat would they have had. No mashed
potatoes, apples, or sugar to make cranberry sauce or pies. They did have
turkey, and there was the shooting of fowl, and there was venison, since the records
say the Indians brought six deer to the celebration. Seafood was also plentiful
on the Cape Cod site of the Plymouth colony, so the meal likely featured clams,
oysters, lobster or mussels, as well as fish. No cows, so no milk or butter for
the bread. Other items included salads of mixed greens, and corn pudding, and such
foods as carrots, turnips, onions, beets, squash and various nuts and wild
berries. Bread was baked in round loaves, as standard loaf pans hadn’t been invented
yet. Again there wasn’t any butter since the settlers had no cows, but pumpkin
was available served as a stew.
Beer was the drink of
choice and necessity. It was the typical beverage at the time, due to concerns
about the safety and cleanliness of water. Even children and babies drank beer.
Forks hadn’t come along, but they had giant spoons so at mealtime they used
spoons, knives and hands, with hands likely to get a mite dirty the Pilgrims brought
along some hefty napkins like 3 feet long.
To be continued…
DR. KARL WALLACE D.D.S.
To read more of my Thanksgiving stories go to:
w.w.w.karlwallaceblogspot.com
