From the History Channel, history.comThe First ThanksgivingIn 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast, which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. Although this feast is considered by many to be the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others, organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.Historians have also recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America.The Menu?Historians arent completely certain about the full bounty, but its safe to say the pilgrims werent gobbling up pumpkin pie or playing with their mashed potatoes. Following is a list of the foods that were available to the colonists at the time of the 1621 feast. However, the only two items that historians know for sure were on the menu are venison and wild fowl, which are mentioned in primary sources. Seventeenth Century Table Manners:The pilgrims didnt use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers. They wiped their hands on large cloth napkins, which they also used to pick up hot morsels of food. Salt would have been on the table at the harvest feast, and people would have sprinkled it on their food. Pepper, however, was something that they used for cooking but wasnt available on the table.In the 17th century, a persons social standing determined what he or she ate. The best food was placed next to the most important people. People didnt tend to sample everything that was on the table (as we do today), they just ate what was closest to them.Serving in the 17th century was very different from serving today. People werent served their meals individually. Foods were served onto the table and then people took the food from the table and ate it. All the servers had to do was move the food from the place where it was cooked onto the table.Pilgrims didnt eat in courses as we do today. All of the different types of foods were placed on the table at the same time and people ate in any order they chose. More Meat, Less VegetablesOur modern Thanksgiving repast is centered around the turkey, but that certainly wasnt the case at the pilgrimss feasts. Their meals included many different meats. Vegetable dishes, one of the main components of our modern celebration, didnt really play a large part in the feast mentality of the 17th century. Depending on the time of year, many vegetables werent available to the colonists.The pilgrims probably didnt have pies or anything sweet at the harvest feast. They had brought some sugar with them on the Mayflower but by the time of the feast, the supply had dwindled. Also, they didnt have an oven so pies and cakes and breads were not possible at all. Surprisingly Spicy People tend to think of English food as bland, but, in fact, the pilgrims used many spices, including cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and dried fruit, in sauces for meats. In the 17th century, cooks did not use proportions or talk about teaspoons and tablespoons. The best way to cook things in the 17th century was to roast them. Among the pilgrims, someone was assigned to sit for hours at a time and turn the spit to make sure the meat was evenly done.Since the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians had no refrigeration in the 17th century, they tended to dry a lot of their foods to preserve them. They dried Indian corn, hams, fish, and herbs.Dinner for BreakfastThe biggest meal of the day for the colonists was eaten at noon and it was called noonmeat or dinner. The housewives would spend part of their morning cooking that meal. Supper was a smaller meal that they had at the end of the day. Breakfast tended to be leftovers from the previous days noonmeat.In a pilgrim household, the adults sat down to eat and the children and servants waited on them. Source: Kathleen Curtin, Food Historian at Plimoth PlantationFoods That May Have Been on the MenuSeafood: Cod, Eel, Clams, LobsterWild Fowl: Wild Turkey, Goose, Duck, Crane, Swan, Partridge, EaglesMeat: Venison, SealGrain: Wheat Flour, Indian CornVegetables: Pumpkin, Peas, Beans, Onions, Lettuce, Radishes, CarrotsFruit: Plums, GrapesNuts: Walnuts, Chestnuts, AcornsHerbs and Seasonings: Olive Oil, Liverwort, Leeks, Dried Currants, ParsnipsNot on the MenuSurprisingly, the following foods, all considered staples of the modern Thanksgiving meal, didnt appear on the pilgrimss first feast table:Ham: There is no evidence that the colonists had butchered a pig by this time, though they had brought pigs with them from England.Sweet Potatoes/Potatoes: These were not common.Corn on the Cob: Corn was kept dried out at this time of year.Cranberry Sauce: The colonists had cranberries but no sugar at this time.Pumpkin Pie: Its not a recipe that exists at this point, though the pilgrims had recipes for stewed pumpkin.Chicken/Eggs: We know that the colonists brought hens with them from England, but its unknown how many they had left at this point or whether the hens were still laying.Milk: No cows had been aboard the Mayflower, though its possible that the colonists used goat milk to make cheese.Myths & FactsMyth: The first Thanksgiving was in 1621 and the pilgrims celebrated it every year thereafter.Fact: The first feast wasnt repeated, so it wasnt the beginning of a tradition. In fact, the colonists didnt even call the day Thanksgiving. To them, a thanksgiving was a religious holiday in which they would go to church and thank God for a specific event, such as the winning of a battle. On such a religious day, the types of recreational activities that the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians participated in during the 1621 harvest feast dancing, singing secular songs, playing games wouldnt have been allowed. The feast was a secular celebration, so it never would have been considered a thanksgiving in the pilgrims minds.Myth: The original Thanksgiving feast took place on the fourth Thursday of November.Fact: The original feast in 1621 occurred sometime between September 21 and November 11. Unlike our modern holiday, it was three days long. The event was based on English harvest festivals, which traditionally occurred around Sept. 29. Myth: The pilgrims wore only black and white clothing. They had buckles on their hats, garments, and shoes.Fact: Buckles did not come into fashion until later in the 17th century and black and white were commonly worn only on Sunday and formal occasions. Women typically dressed in red, earthy green, brown, blue, violet, and gray, while men wore clothing in white, beige, black, earthy green, and brown.Myth: The pilgrims brought furniture with them on the Mayflower.Fact: The only furniture that the pilgrims brought on the Mayflower was chests and boxes. They constructed wooden furniture once they settled in Plymouth.
