By T. STEELMAN
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| An array of facts and trivia about American Thanksgiving. You may be surprised at what you learn: did you know that the very first feast was in Florida? |
Ah, Thanksgiving…
turkey, cranberries, pumpkin pie. Football, parades and feasting with family.
Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. Well, sort of.
Many myths have
sprung up around the holiday, and many traditions have, too.
It’s time to take
a look at the history and traditions of American Thanksgiving — our neighbors
to the north had theirs last month.
The first Thanksgiving: not exactly what you
think
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| First Thanksgiving? Francisco de Coronado |
Thanksgiving is, for
all intents and purposes, a belated harvest festival. Before Americans adopted
the tradition, American Indians, Europeans, and many other cultures celebrated
the harvest season with feasts and offerings to their gods as thanks for their
survival. Some still do.
It’s generally
believed that the feast at Plymouth Colony was the first Thanksgiving here in
North America. But the first feast between arriving foreigners and Natives took
place in 1541, when Francisco de Coronado and his expedition broke bread with
the natives at Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas panhandle.
Some historians say
that a similar feast held in Florida was the first, with French Huguenots
celebrating on June 30th of 1564. Others point to Jamestown colony in 1609 and
Roanoke in 1586. Then again, maybe it was Ponce de Leon in 1513 near what is
now St. Petersburg, Florida. Any way you carve it, the Pilgrims weren’t the
first.
The Plymouth feast
lasted three days, with Pilgrims and American Indians both contributing to the
meal. But turkey wasn’t on the menu. According to the narrative of colonist
Edward Winslow “wild fowl” was served. It was never specified which fowl he
meant. It could also have been duck or geese. What we do know is that
venison, shellfish and lobster were served, along with nuts, wheat flour,
pumpkins, squashes, carrots, and peas.
The Pilgrims didn’t
wear the clothes in which they are pictured nowadays. Buckles were too
expensive: buttons and laces would have held their clothing together. In the
19th century, illustrators searched for a costume to use in drawings for the
holiday. They settled on a style of clothing that was popular among the
fashionable in 17th century England.
How Thanksgiving became a national holiday
George Washington
wanted a national Thanksgiving celebration when he was President and suggested
such. He had the support of a number of other founding fathers… except for
Thomas Jefferson, who thought a national day of Thanksgiving was the most
ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.
Abraham Lincoln
finally made it an official holiday by proclamation in 1863, designated it as
the last Thursday of November. Many southern states weren’t supportive of
Thanksgiving at first. They were not happy about the federal government
telling them to celebrate and felt that it was a “New England” holiday. They
were still a bit miffed about the whole Civil War thing.
Despite Lincoln’s
proclamation, the date of Thanksgiving was not fixed until 1941, when Franklin
Delano Roosevelt signed a bill setting the holiday on the fourth Thursday of
November. He moved it up a week to help the economy by lengthening the
Christmas shopping season.
Republicans were not
down with this change, and retaliated by calling it Democrat
Thanksgiving (or “Franksgiving”). They celebrated the following
Thursday, calling that Republican Thanksgiving. Many
Republican governors defied the change of date and observed the holiday on the
last Thursday of the month, anyway. Republicans have some experience of being
childish pre-Obama, it seems.
Shopping frenzy
“Black Friday” began
in the 1960s in Philadelphia. That city was the mall capital of America at that
time, and Philadelphians coined the term to refer to the mass of shoppers that
came out to shop the day after Thanksgiving. Later, retailers put their spin on
the name, saying it described their hoped-for profit on that day. They took it
from the term to be “in the black,” or making a profit. I think that some of
them have abused the privilege.
So, we know that the
day after Thanksgiving is a big shopping day for presents. But did you know
that the day before Thanksgiving is the biggest day for bar and liquor sales?
Experts think that this is because of the long holiday weekend and having — or
being — guests. Then again, it could be that some folks are laying in a supply
to help them handle the relatives.
Let’s talk turkey
The word “turkey” is
originally Hebrew, a corruption of the word tukki. Columbus’ Jewish
interpreter, Luis de Torres, dubbed the wild birds tukki because
they looked somewhat like peacocks to him. Some linguists maintain that it
originated from tuka, the Tamil word for peacock. Either way, it’s
an exotic word for our original wild birds.
Abraham Lincoln
started the custom of pardoning turkeys on Thanksgiving. He informally pardoned
his son Tad’s pet, Jack the Turkey, accidentally giving rise to the tradition.
Other presidents did the pardoning thing but sporadically until 1947, when
Harry Truman made it official. For a time, the pardoned birds went to live out
their lives at Disneyland’s Big Thunder Ranch in California. Since 2010,
though, the turkeys have gone to live at Washington’s Mount Vernon.
An estimated 254
million turkeys were raised in the U.S. in 2012 according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. The good news is that turkey prices are down this
year to help lure shoppers in, hoping that they will purchase all the trimmings
to go along with it. The average Thanksgiving turkey dinner will cost an
average of $49.04 this year, which is down 44 cents from last year.
Let’s bust the myth
about tryptophan. The amount in most turkeys isn’t enough to make you
drowsy. Beef and cheese both have more. Rather, scientists say, it’s the booze,
the feast or simply relaxing. But, heck, it’s a 4-day weekend so go ahead and
have a catnap after dinner. That way you’ll be sharp for those evening board
games. Or video games, depending on how you roll.
Thanksgiving pigskin mania
The tradition of
football on turkey day was popularized by Yale and Princeton, who played their
first game in 1876. In 1934, the NFL decided to get in on that action and The
Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears. Detroit has played every Thanksgiving
Day game save for during WWII. The Dallas Cowboys horned in on the audience in
1966 letting us have two Thanksgiving games. That first game between the Lions
and Bears was first broadcast on NBC Radio in 1934.
In
2013, the Lions will play the Green Bay Packers while the Cowboys
take on the Raiders. We get an additional game now, with the Jaguars facing the
Ravens. There are also many high school games,
dubbed “Turkey Bowls.” Pick your favorite, grab a beer and cheer your team on.
It will help keep you from falling asleep, at least.
What’s Thanksgiving without a parade?
Macy’s first Thanksgiving
Day parade in 1924 was held with live animals from the Central Park Zoo and was
billed as “The Christmas Parade.” This was the parade for the next three years.
In 1927, Goodyear sponsored a giant balloon of Felix the Cat, starting that
tradition. Until 1933, the balloons were just released to float off into the
sky at the end of the parade and $100 was given by Macy’s to whomever found a
deflated balloon. That stopped when a pilot trying to grab a loose balloon
crashed his plane and died.
Mickey Mouse made his
debut seven years later. Kermit the Frog came along in 1985. Snoopy, who joined
the parade in 1968, holds the record for most appearances in the parade with
seven. The parade route was moved to its present starting point at 77th
and Central Park West in 1946. It was first televised nationally in 1947,
drawing respectable viewership.
Fifty years ago, the
parade was almost cancelled due to the assassination of JFK. But it was felt
that the nation needed it so the show went on.
Each year, approximately
3.5 million people line the streets to watch the parade live while another 50
million or so watch it on TV. NBC began repeating the parade later in the day
for those who were too exhausted by Thanksgiving preparations to get up early
enough to view it live. Thank goodness!
Thanksgiving miscellany
Native Hawaiians
celebrate their own “Thanksgiving” festival. Known as Makahiki, it
is the time of year dedicated to the agriculture and fertility god, Lono. For
four months, starting in late October, all war was suspended as the Hawaiians
feasted, played games, danced and generally made merry while Lono was in
charge. A tiki of Lono, trimmed with ferns and feathers, was carried around
each island. As it passed through each area, that marked the start of the makahiki
season. When Ku took over again at the end of January (these are approximate as
the Hawaiians had a lunar calendar), a canoe with offerings to Lono was set
adrift.
The Christmas song
“Jingle Bells” was written by James Lord Pierpont in 1857. It was originally
composed for a Thanksgiving program at his church in Savannah, Georgia.
Originally called “One Horse Open Sleigh,” it became so popular that it was
sung again on Christmas. It is now one of the best-known carols of all time.
If you don’t celebrate
Thanksgiving, you can try this instead: every year on Alcatraz Island the
International Indian Treaty Council has an “Unthanksgiving Day.” A sunrise
ceremony, it began in 1975, four years after the American Indian Movement occupied Alcatraz in 1969,
to commemorate the struggles of the indigenous native people. The group held
the island for almost a year and a half, from November 2 until June 11, 1971.
They chose Alcatraz as a “big enough symbol” for them to be taken seriously.
The event is open to the public.
That’s just some of
the lore surrounding this most wonderful holiday. Whether you have a turkey and
all the trimmings or go vegan, have a small dinner or a huge feast, we here at AddictingInfo send you and yours our best wishes for a safe and enjoyable
holiday. Let the ritual of the yams commence!
Sources:
A Taste of Thanksgiving: Curious Facts About America’s Holiday by Christopher Forest
A Taste of Thanksgiving: Curious Facts About America’s Holiday by Christopher Forest
Ancient Ways:
Reclaiming Pagan Traditions by
Pauline Campanelli and Dan Campanelli
Hawaiian Mythology by Martha Warren Beckwith
The Everything
Christmas Book: Stories, Songs, Food, Traditions, Revelry, and More by Brandon Toropov, Sharon Gapen Cook,
Marian Gonsior and Susan Robinson