The Evolution of Thanksgiving as a Holiday
The Evolution of Thanksgiving as a Holiday
This is a painting of what the original Thanksgiving was imagined to be like.
This is a painting of what the original Thanksgiving was imagined to be like.
Thanksgiving is now regarded as one of the most popular and commonly-celebrated American holidays, thanks to traditions started by both natives and pilgrims. I learned that after a successful harvest in the year 1621, a three day gathering was held by pilgrims and natives from the Wampanoag tribe to celebrate. At the time, this represented unification between different groups of people and celebration. It wasn’t until over 200 years later that it was officially regarded as “Thanksgiving” in the 1830’s. Many Thanksgiving traditions have evolved, and many of the are now regarded as being more related to Halloween instead. An example of this is Thanksgiving masking. Children would dress up in costumes and ask for candy or "something for thanksgiving?". This directly mirrors the modern tradition of trick or treating, a Halloween tradition. There are many debates about where these customs started, but the truth is that Thanksgiving practices stemmed from many different traditions from both native and European cultures.
Through research, I have learned that Thanksgiving became a national holiday in more than 30 states by 1854. The idea to have Thanksgiving was written by William Seward and issued by Abraham Lincoln, but the majority of the credit for this now-common holiday goes to a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale. Hale grew up celebrating Thanksgiving before it became an official holiday, and even wrote a chapter in her book, “Northwood: A Tale of New England” about the traditions involved in celebrating it. She advocated to have Thanksgiving become a national holiday because she believed it would unify the American people over a common cause. The holiday was meant to celebrate gratitude and thanks. This came after the war, so she believed that it would “help heal the wounds of the nation”. Despite most of the credit going to Hale, this idea did not actually originate with her. When reading about the origination of Thanksgiving as a holiday, I discovered that long before Hale, George Washington actually called for a day of thanks to celebrate the ratification of the constitution. This shows that deep-rooted American values of gratitude have existed for generations and generations.
Nowadays, Thanksgiving is a time to eat foods such as turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, pie, and much more with family and friends. The truth is that many of these things are not at all what was eaten on the day when natives and pilgrims ate together. My research showed that the original feast included crops harvested by pilgrims and deer brought by the Wampanoag tribe. Historians also believe that dishes such as cornmeal, pumpkin, and succotash were eaten during this time of celebration. There is a possibility that goose or duck was served, but there is no actual evidence or proof that turkey was eaten on that day. This is ironic because nowadays, when you think of Thanksgiving, turkey is always one of the first things that comes to mind. Many traditions and dishes that are now associated with Thanksgiving were actually not related to the original Thanksgiving at all, and were fabricated by marketers in order to promote their products. An example of this is with a Welch’s ad in the 1960’s. This ad implies that there was grape juice at the original Thanksgiving, even though this is far from the truth, and a complete lie that they created to promote their product. A similar scenario happened with Diamond Walnuts. Advertisements showed these walnuts as an accessory for other holiday dishes in 1928, despite walnuts not being included in the original feast. All of these different dishes have contributed to the evolution of Thanksgiving as a holiday, and has brought the holiday to where it is today.
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