The lady of our house is writing a book, her second, of the Wingate/Swift family history. Here's a passage to serve as a clue to what's to come, which obviously goes with today, THANKSGIVING DAY!
The First Thanksgiving by Winnie Bowman
Jean Leon Gerome circa 1912-1915
After the first disastrous winter of 1621, life began to improve for the Pilgrims. Plymouth was situated on the land once occupied by the Patuxet tribe of Indians who were a part of the Wampanoag Confederation of tribes. Most of the Patuxet had died in a plague several years earlier. One survivor, Squanto by name, who had spent several years in Europe as a slave, knew English and became an interpreter and negotiator with the Wampanoag Indians.
The Wampanoag Indians with Massasoit as their king were at first friendly with the Pilgrims, thinking they might find an ally in their ongoing rivalry with the Narragansett Indians. The Wampanoags helped the Pilgrims adapt to the new land. The Pilgrims in turn brought new items and ways to the Indians. They tried to convert the Wampanoags to Christianity which however didn’t always work so well. As the decades went on, conflicts arose. By the 1670s, hostilities reached their high point with the advent of King Philip, who had become the tribal leader after his father Massasoit, and the Wampanoags entered into war with the settlers at Swansea and neighboring territories.
But in the fall of 1621 (a year after the settlers had arrived), the harvest was good (wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables, and nuts); fish were plentiful, as were fowl. It was decided to have a three-day celebration in thanksgiving to a generous God. Many Indians came, among them the Wampanoag King Massasoit, and brought deer and fowl with them. It was a time of feasting, festivity, and celebration.
This was a one-time celebration; no such Thanksgiving happened again until 200 years later. Only two accounts of that first Thanksgiving feast exist and it wasn’t until the middle 1800s when there ensued a greater interest in Pilgrim history that a push was made to mark the day annually. In current times, Thanksgiving is celebrated nationally on the fourth Thursday of November.
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