What Is The Story Behind Thanksgiving?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Thanksgiving Day is a national in the United States, and Thanksgiving 2021 occurs on Thursday, November 25. In 1621,

the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast

that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

What are 5 interesting facts about Thanksgiving?

  • The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 over a three day harvest festival. …
  • Turkey wasn't on the menu at the first Thanksgiving. …
  • Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3, 1863. …
  • The history of U.S. presidents pardoning turkeys is patchy.

What is the real reason we celebrate Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving Day, annual national holiday in the United States and Canada

celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year

. Americans generally believe that their Thanksgiving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people

Was there a massacre on Thanksgiving?

William B. Newell, a Penobscot Indian and former chairman of the Anthropology department at the University of Connecticut, says that the first official Thanksgiving Day celebrated the

massacre of 700 Indian men

, women and children during one of their religious ceremonies.

What is Thanksgiving in the Bible?


the act of giving thanks

; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God. an expression of thanks, especially to God. a public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor or kindness. a day set apart for giving thanks to God.

What did the Pilgrims do to the natives?

What they found when they arrived was a village that had been decimated by disease. While the Wampanoags considered the site a cursed place of death and tragedy, the Pilgrims saw the

deaths of the natives as a sign from God that this was where they should settle

. And so began Plimoth Plantation.

What are 10 interesting facts about Thanksgiving?

  • The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621.
  • Every Thanksgiving, the current U.S. president pardons a turkey.
  • Macy's has put on a parade every Thanksgiving since 1924.
  • Thanksgiving is the biggest travel day of the year.
  • The foods eaten for Thanksgiving dinner haven't changed much since 1621.

How many pumpkin pies will be eaten on Thanksgiving?


About 50 million pumpkin pies

are consumed each Thanksgiving (make yours stand out this year by adding a sugar cookie crust!).

Where was the first Thanksgiving dinner?

The modern Thanksgiving holiday is based off a festival shared by the pilgrims and the Wampanoag Native American tribe at

Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts

, in 1621. The feast purportedly celebrated the colonists' first successful harvest in the New World.

Do Native Americans celebrate thanksgiving?

National Day of Mourning plaque


Many Native Americans do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims

and other European settlers. To them, Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their cultures.

Why do we eat turkey on thanksgiving?

For meat,

the Wampanoag brought deer, and the Pilgrims provided wild “fowl

.” Strictly speaking, that “fowl” could have been turkeys, which were native to the area, but historians think it was probably ducks or geese. …

What can I do instead of thanksgiving?

  • National Day of Mourning. …
  • Unthanksgiving Day. …
  • National Day of Listening. …
  • Native American Heritage Month. …
  • Restorative Justice Week. …
  • National Family Week. …
  • National Game and Puzzle Week. …
  • National Farm-City Week.

What is a good Thanksgiving message?

  • We are so grateful for you and your family! …
  • We all have so much to be thankful for! …
  • Happy Thanksgiving! …
  • May you enjoy the warmth of family this season and the harvest of the feast! …
  • Sending you laughter, joy and lots of stuffing this Thanksgiving.

How do you thank God for everything?

  1. For instance, if someone says, “Your home is beautiful,” you might say, “Thank you! God has really blessed my life and I'm very grateful to Him.”
  2. If they ask you more about your faith in God, you might invite them to come to church with you so they can learn about God's generosity as well.

Did the Pilgrims eat with the natives?

You can see throughout their journals that they were always nervous and, unfortunately, when they were nervous they were very aggressive. So the Pilgrims didn't invite the Wampanoags to sit down and eat turkey and drink some beer? …

People did eat together

[but not in what is portrayed as “the first Thanksgiving].

How many Native Americans are left?

Today, there are

over five million Native Americans

in the United States, 78% of whom live outside reservations: California, Arizona and Oklahoma have the largest populations of Native Americans in the United States.

Maria Kunar
Author
Maria Kunar
Maria is a cultural enthusiast and expert on holiday traditions. With a focus on the cultural significance of celebrations, Maria has written several blogs on the history of holidays and has been featured in various cultural publications. Maria's knowledge of traditions will help you appreciate the meaning behind celebrations.