Last updated on August 23rd, 2023 at 11:38 am
A guest post by Anne Clare
The United States’ celebration of Thanksgiving might seem, at first glance, like a surprising choice for a blog dedicated to Britain. After all, modern U.S. celebrations largely focus on eating turkey (a bird native to the New World), watching football (the American variety, naturally), and gearing up for Christmas shopping (well, alright, I suppose that’s international.) But as to the history of the day, even the youngest students at the school where I teach know the basics of the story of the Pilgrims at Plymouth rock—Pilgrims whose roots and whose beliefs, which led to their Thanksgiving celebration, stretch all the way back to Britain.*
The traditional Thanksgiving story begins in the early 1600s, during the reign of James I (or James VI, depending on how it’s reckoned. See how much I’ve learned by reading Mr. Britain’s book?)
Before the Pilgrims became known by that name, they were a sect of British Christians known as the Separatists. Like their contemporaries, the Puritans, they disagreed with the Church of England in teaching and practice. Unlike the Puritans, who wished to “purify” the existing church, the Separatists wished to…well, separate themselves. To become their own, independent religious group.
In King James’s Britain, where he was both the head of the state and of the Church of England, a group claiming that church hierarchy was not only unnecessary but unscriptural was (unsurprisingly) unwelcome. The particular group of Separatists who are part of the Thanksgiving story were centered around Scrooby in Nottinghamshire, and they faced a dilemma. They wished to worship as they saw fit, but it was illegal, and they risked fines, harassment, or jail time by doing so. Therefore, they decided to leave the country—to travel to Holland which had much more relaxed religious rules. However, leaving the country without permission was illegal, too. (Religious dissenters. Can’t live with ‘em…can’t just let them leave the country.) It took three tries, but finally a sizeable group of the Separatists managed to emigrate. They settled in Amsterdam, then later in Leiden.
The story might have ended there—sans turkey and pumpkin pie and all of it—except that things weren’t as rosy in Holland as the Separatists had hoped. True, the rules governing religious choice were less strict. However, so was the local moral code. They seemed to be losing their identity—both as British and as Separatists—especially as their children assimilated into this new society. Not only that but, as outsiders, they found it difficult to find work. What they did find was menial and physically challenging. Often, children had to labor alongside their parents just to make enough to survive.
It was time to try something completely different.
Hoping for a Royal Charter enabling them to start their own colony in the New World, the Separatists approached King James. He refused, but he promised he wouldn’t block their efforts to resettle. In the end, they indentured themselves for seven years to the London Virginia Company in exchange for a Patent—i.e. financial backing for the trip. They planned to start a farming community in the Virginia Colony, near present-day New York City. Master Christopher Jones was commissioned to take the Separatists across the Atlantic in his ship, the Mayflower. A second, smaller ship was to go as well, but the Speedwell didn’t live up to her name and was so leaky that she had to be left behind.
When the Mayflower finally left Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620, she carried only 30 to 40 Separatists (none of the sources I’ve found agree on an exact number.) The remaining 62ish passengers were hired help or ‘strangers’ who wanted to find a new life in the Americas. The Separatists’—who we’ll call the Pilgrims from this point on, as befits a group travelling for religious reasons—voyage across the Atlantic lasted for 66 days. Poor weather and sea conditions prevented them from landing where they’d planned. Instead, they ended up to the north, near modern day Cape Cod, at a place they named Plymouth.
Controversy arose. Now that they’d failed to reach Virginia, was the patent from the company any good anymore? There was friction between the Pilgrims and the others and talk of the party splitting up—not a great idea for a small group in a new, unfamiliar, and potentially dangerous land. To settle the matter, Pilgrim leaders including William Brewster and William Bradford drew up The Mayflower Compact. It was the first political document created in the New World—a 200-word document establishing basic governing principles for the group.
Once all of that was settled, the Pilgrims (and the others, who are generally included under the blanket term ‘Pilgrims’ from about this point) could begin settling in to Plymouth Harbor. The Mayflower housed them as they built new homes ashore. Even with a home and basic government established, the Pilgrims’ struggles were far from over. Poor diet and difficult living conditions took a heavy toll. By the end of the first year, only 52 people survived—during their first two months on land as many as two to three people died every day.
Thankfully, even after the Mayflower’s remaining crew sailed back to England, the Pilgrims weren’t left completely alone. They’d made some valuable friends in the local American Indian tribes. The story goes that on March 16, 1621, an Abenaki sagamore (lesser chief) named Samoset strolled into Plymouth colony and greeted the Pilgrims—in English! He was friendly, and introduced them to the local Wampanoag chief, Massaoit, and a Squanto (also known as Tisquantum.) Squanto, born into the Pawtuxet tribe, was fluent in English—which made sense, as he spent quite a bit of time living around Englishmen. While his early history isn’t firmly established, some theorize that he had been taken back to England in 1605 by George Weymouth, then returned to America in 1614 with John Smith (whose story is tied in with the famous Algonquin chief’s daughter, Pocahontas.) Multiple sources seem certain that he was abducted by Thomas Hunt (one of Smith’s associates) and taken to Spain to be sold as a slave. Upon his escape, he traveled to England, then back to the New World, only to find his people wiped out by disease. Squanto proved an invaluable contact and interpreter for the Pilgrims. Through his aid in negotiations, the Pilgrims signed a treaty with Massasoit, and through his help and knowledge they learned better ways to farm and survive in this New World.
Now, where does Thanksgiving fit into all of this?
In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest. Pilgrim Edward Winslow detailed what happened next in a letter.
“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, and many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”
This feast and the image of the Pilgrims giving thanks to God for their survival, gathered with their Native American friends around the table, has inspired and influenced the ongoing American Thanksgiving tradition. Pilgrim Governor William Bradford wrote his own account twenty years later, mentioning turkey as a dish served at the feast (hooray!)
However, the 1621 feast was not the beginning of an annual observance. True, Thanksgiving celebrations cropped up from time to time throughout North America’s history. Sources cite another feast of the Pilgrims in 1623, when it seems they had much more bounty to celebrate. The U.S. National Archives has a proclamation printed in Boston, calling for a day of thankful “fasting and prayer” in 1678. These observances continued into the turbulent 1700s. Even during the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress of the United States calling for a day of Thanksgiving in 1777, with a rest from labor and recreation. (One could, I suppose, claim this as the first U.S. Thanksgiving celebration, since the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, but as the colonies and Britain hadn’t yet sorted out their split, and wouldn’t until 1783 with the end of the war, I imagine that’s up for debate.)
In 1789, the first United States president, George Washington, called for a national Thanksgiving celebration, “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God”—it was also to be a day to give thanks for the end of war, the establishment of a government, and to ask God’s blessings in the future. When the mood struck them, other presidents followed suit, but most years planning and implementing Thanksgiving celebrations was left up to individual states or territories. In fact, Thanksgiving did not become a national holiday until more than 200 years after the 1621 celebration, in the midst of the dark days of the American Civil War.
In October of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln (urged on by Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey’s Ladies Book and author of ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’) declared a National Day of Thanksgiving to be observed on the last Thursday in November. This last Thursday became the traditional day for an annual Thanksgiving Day celebration, though it didn’t make it onto the calendar for a while—the President still had to declare it each year. Still, the precedent was set, and since Lincoln’s proclamation, the celebration of Thanksgiving has really only hit one major hiccup, during another war-torn era.
In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt decided to declare Thanksgiving a week early. As the week after Thanksgiving is generally when Americans start Christmas preparations, it seems that he was trying to give everyone an extra week to shop hoping to boost the economy. While the U.S. economy, still caught in the slump of the Depression, needed a boost, FDR’s decision was dubbed ‘Franksgiving’ and greeted less than enthusiastically. Some states went along with it, some refused to, and Texas and Colorado just celebrated twice. FDR stuck to his choice for two years, then in 1941 he relented, and Congress officially established Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November.
While Thanksgiving has changed significantly in the last 398 years, some things have remained. It is still a chance for reflection on the blessings of the past year. Many churches offer special opportunities for worship, though some (like mine) have moved services to Wednesday night rather than Thursday. I think it’s a good choice—it’s less distracting for the cooks who otherwise might be tempted to fret over whether the turkey’s drying out as it roasts and just how the pie and green bean casserole are both going to fit in the oven.
A traditional Thanksgiving Day generally includes a gathering of family and friends for an oversized afternoon meal. The meal consists of courses like turkey with bread stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Regional favorites like green bean casserole topped with crispy fried onion bits and sweet potatoes/yams (which, if made properly, are only a vehicle for marshmallow topping), are likely to be on the table. Of course, there’s always pumpkin pie (pecan too, if it’s a good spread), and plenty of whipped cream. Obviously, individual and regional customs vary, and over the years, innovators have tried introducing new fare. One of the most…interesting ones that I’ve heard of recently is a “turducken”—a chicken, stuffed in a duck, stuffed in a turkey. (No, I am not making this up, and don’t ask me how it works—I have no idea.) After dinner, there are football games to watch and Black Friday shopping ads to sift through. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade—a tradition since 1924—will likely be on the television at some point with its giant balloons and lip-syncing pop stars.
In the end, though, I think the one thing we all hope for—the one thing that we know we need to hold on to, even if sometimes we forget—is the spirit of the day that we see in those Pilgrims who’d suffered and struggled and still rejoiced. It’s a day to stop, and reflect, to look at the blessings around us and to Give Thanks.
* Perhaps it’s worth mentioning that there is some dispute about the real ‘First Thanksgiving’ in the Americas. Claims have been made for American Indian, Spanish, French and different British groups being the true original givers-of-thanks. However, the account of the Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock is the traditional piece of history to which most Thanksgiving accounts refer, and the one I’ve chosen to focus on. Besides, none of the other tales of Thanksgiving allow for all of the fantastic toilet-paper-roll Pilgrim and turkey crafts that are staples of the American teacher’s Fall Art curriculum. Mystified Brits and others, please follow this link.
I want to thank Anne for unraveling the mysteries of Thanksgiving so wonderfully for us. I love the way things evolve – you might say from persecution to pumpkin pie – and it’s humbling to think that this celebration began, in unhappy circumstances, on this side of the Pond 400 years ago.
A replica of the Mayflower was built in Brixham, Devon and sailed from Plymouth to Plymouth Massachusetts in 1957. It has recently undergone an enormous restoration there in time for the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Pilgrims to the New World. Also in Plymouth, Massachusetts is Plimoth Plantation, a re-created Pilgrim village which, among other things, hosts costumed reenactments – including authentic 17th century Thanksgivings.
Anne Clare is a native of Minnesota’s cornfields and dairy country. She graduated with a BS in Education in 2005 and set out to teach in the gorgeous green Pacific Northwest, where she and her husband still live. She also serves as a church musician, singing and occasionally directing choirs, playing piano, organ, and coronet (the last only occasionally, when she forgets how bad she is at it.) After the birth of her second child, she became a stay-at-home mom, and after the birth of the third she became reconciled to the fact that her house would never be clean again, which allowed her to find time to pursue her passion for history and writing while the little people napped. Although she’s back to teaching part-time, she continues to blog about WWII history, writing, and other odds and ends at thenaptimeauthor.wordpress.com. She published her first novel, ‘Whom Shall I Fear?’ in the summer of 2019.
While you’re here, make sure you check out Anne’s debut WWII historical fiction novel on Amazon UK , Amazon.com – or any other Amazon you can think of.
1943
All that Sergeant James Milburn wants is to heal. Sent to finish his convalescence in a lonely village in the north of England, the friends he’s lost haunt his dreams. If he can only be declared fit for active service again, perhaps he can rejoin his surviving mates in the fight across Sicily and either protect them or die alongside them.
All that Evie Worther wants is purpose. War has reduced her family to an elderly matriarch and Charles, her controlling cousin, both determined to keep her safely tucked away in their family home. If she can somehow balance her sense of obligation to family with her desperate need to be of use, perhaps she can discover how she fits into her tumultuous world.
All that Charles Heatherington wants is his due. Since his brother’s death, he is positioned to be the family’s heir with only one step left to make his future secure. If only he can keep the family matriarch happy, he can finally start living the easy life he is certain he deserves.
However, when James’s, Evie’s and Charles’s paths collide, a dark secret of the past is forced into the light, and everything that they have hoped and striven for is thrown into doubt.
Weaving in historical detail from World War II in Britain, Italy and Egypt, ‘Whom Shall I Fear?’ follows their individual struggles with guilt and faith, love and family, and forces them to ask if the greatest threat they face is really from the enemy abroad.
Hey, its great to read a thorough account of a story that is most often simplified and received in highly abbreviated form. And for years I had just assumed that Thanksgiving was an American form of the Harvest Festival, albeit delayed by a few months, perhaps the Pilgrims clocks were running slow, (?) which was a regular feature of my life growing up in a somewhat rural environment in the West of England. Harvest Festival I mean. Now here I am, not 75 miles from Plymouth MA depending on which road I might take (I checked on Google Maps), a couple of hours before a Thanksgiving feast with the odors of roasting turkey permeating the house. How delightful!
Sounds wonderful – hope you had/have a fabulous time. I’m off to the pub.
An excellent post from Anne. But then again, I always enjoy her writing.
Oh yes, she tells a good tale does Anne. Puts it across really well. Thanks, GP.
Hi Mike and Anne – great fun to have Anne’s post here about the Pilgrims .. as too pie, the Mayflower’s sailing taking the pilgrims across the Ocean – which will celebrate 400 years on next year … just next year! – Cheers Hilary
Thanks, Hilary – yes, a big anniversary!
excellent . Very enjoyable.
Thank you – glad you enjoyed it and thank you for dropping in.
Thank you for such a detailed history.
Thanks, CP. Yes, Anne did a great job of research and writing!
Thanks so much for sharing this, Anne! I’ve learned some of this from a Charlie Brown series on American history, but not all of it. 🙂 I love your turkeys, too. Somewhere is a list that Blondie made in Kindergarten about what she’s thankful for. The top of the list: “Grandma, because she lets me play with her Christmas stuff.” I’d be thankful for that, too, lol! xxxxx
Thanks for dropping over, Jean. I agree – I think Anne’s done a cracking job on this article! Is that Blondie as in Debbie Harry?
Blondie’s the nickname I’ve given my daughter, actually. 🙂
Ah – well, I wasn’t to know that 🙂 But let’s hope Debbie Harry’s grandma let her play with her Christmas stuff too!
LMAO! Sure, why not? 🙂
Really interesting post!
Yes, isn’t it? Thanks for reading it and leaving a comment!
Wonderful post…My favorite American holiday but this year we will be celebrating in Canada(!) I never knew the connection with the British and Holland and perhaps this is why the architecture in NYC has steep stoops to keep out the flood waters…ah, there really has never been that kind of flooding in NYC. Very fun. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it – have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I do know that before NYC was called New York it was called New Amsterdam!
Thank you- I love the day, too (if that didn’t show… :)) I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving, wherever you celebrate!
Interesting thought about the architecture- I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re right! Seconding Mike’s reference to New Amsterdam (which I know about thanks to the band They Might Be Giants. :))
This was a good post. Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you – and thank you for dropping in!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent post – I’ve learned so much! I never knew Thanksgiving had British roots or that it stretched that far back. Fascinating stuff. 🙂
Thanks, Alli – I agree! Well researched and written.
Thanks so much, Alli. I love looking into “familiar” history and finding out how much I don’t know! 🙂
A very interesting post
Thanks so much!
Thanks, Polly!
Thank you, Anne for such an informative post and with best wishes to you for a very happy Thanksgiving.
Thank you, Mike for hosting.
Thanks Clare- and a happy Thanksgiving to you, too!
Thank you, Clare 🙂
Unfortunately Anne’s version of the first Thanksgiving is a very whitewashed view, all happy and nice, and a far cry from the true story. The pilgrims held multiple feats called thanksgivings, whenever they successfully killed off a bunch of indians (Native Americans), by treachery, gunshot, fire and poison. We celebrate it as a holiday because we were the victors.
Thank you for your point of view.
There were certainly many times in history where encounters between European settlers and the American Indians did not end peacefully- with tragic results. Perhaps that’s why the record of the peaceful 1621 relationships has become so beloved.
Quite informative, Anne!
Thank you 🙂
A fascinating and intriguing look at Thanksgiving, some of which I knew; some of which was new to me! I find it interesting and somewhat amusing that the Congregational Church (where many of the churches are named Mayflower, Plymouth and Pilgrim and the ladies’ circles called “Bradford,” “Brewster” and other names from the period) strikes me as one of the more socially liberal and least Puritan of the Protestant sects in America. They took religious freedom to the next step in the years following the emigration! (I grew up in the Congregational church and this always amused me!)
Most of it was new to me, Jeanie. It’s a lovely, well-researched, article. Must admit, I often get confused with all the different churches!
Thanks so much! Oh, I hadn’t even made the connection to Congregational churches, but of course you’re right-it is kind of funny how times change!
Thanks for a wonderfully informative essay, Anne and Mike. So much I didn’t know and much that I was delighted to have clarified. My eagle eye for typos spotted James IV (should be James VI). Enjoy next Thursday and don’t over-indulge!
Thanks, Frank! Of course, we left that typo in for you to spot!
Thank you Frank- oh dear, did I get my Roman numerals mixed? Sorry- I really am getting rusty, not teaching Math anymore.
Thank you! I’ll try to behave myself, but our hostess makes this incredible cheesecake…
An important, in depth, historical explanation .
It is, Derrick. Should we start celebrating it here, do you think?
Thank you so much, Derrick.
This is a wonderful read, Anne. I learned a lot. We are having a Turducken this year! Hugs to you from across The Pond. Thank you, Mike for this post. <3
I agree, Jane – and, frankly, I didn’t most of the story before. I can see that turducken needs to be looked into!
It’s delicious….. 😉
Yum- I hope it’s delicious! The friends we celebrate with (being far from family) usually go a little crazy- there’s the turkey, the ham, the deep-fried turkey….
Hugs back and thanks for reading!
How lovely that you have loving friends to celebrate with, Anne. Happy Thanksgiving. Hugs Xxx
I enjoyed reading this, thank you! At school, we learned bits about American history in our English lessons, and the Pilgrim Voyage on the Mayflower and the first Thanksgiving were part of that, but of course not in so much detail.
Your novel sounds like my kind of book!
I think you might enjoy the book, Mieke – have a look at the sample! Go on… 🙂
Thanks so much! Same here- I remember covering this every year, but I was surprised by some of the details!
And thanks for your kind words ☺
I think it could have been very appropriate to print a proclamation in Boston, calling for a day of thankful fasting and prayer in 1678. It would have been a very serious day when citizens could have thanked god for their survival and even successes, and asked for good harvests in the next year.
But I do not like the idea of making mega wealthy CEOs of trading empires even wealthier, by buying up their goods. And advertising companies make obscene profits too.
Don’t leave out the banks!
We were talking about the holiday in class, and one of my students observed “the fasting and prayer part has sure changed!” I don’t care for all of the ‘ Black Friday’ craziness (especially as they’ve pushed the sales back to as early as Wednesday, now.) Hopefully people will still remember the real purpose of the holiday, too…. Thanks for reading ☺
Thank you- and thanks for the turducken details! I had NEVER heard of it until the last few years when it made the news as a novelty item. I had no idea that it had such a long history behind it- it sounds pretty impressive!
(Whoops- this was meant to be a reply to the comment above, but my computer is being cantankerous. Sorry for the repetition 🙂 )
Super article..thank you.
The turducken is the Yorkshire pie…prepared on the estates in the north and sent down to the town houses of the gentry for Christmas.
A double crust pie containing…all boned out…. a goose stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken stuffed with a pheasant, stuffed with a partridge. So solid that it would withstand the journey in a horse drawn coach…when the weather was so cold that it would not go off.
In the days when we used to have family over for New Year I used to make this. And the Boar’s Head.
Thank you- and thanks for the turducken details! I had NEVER heard of it until the last few years when it made the news as a novelty item. I had no idea that it had such a long history behind it- it sounds pretty impressive!
Really fascinating detail (as you often do, Helen!). I’d never heard of turducken (though the Memsahib will probably correct me). Yes – I think Anne did a lovely job with this article.
I thoroughly enjoyed it…good history well written.
This was so interesting and a bloody good read, thank you Anne
Thank you so much- I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I agree, Joanne – really interesting and well-written.
A wonderful essay on our shared history. Two thumbs-up!
I’m so pleased that you enjoyed it 🙂
I agree – it’s an excellent essay. Thank you for dropping in and saying so.
This is a terrific blog post. So much I didn’t know… for example, “In the end, (the Separatists) indentured themselves for seven years to the London Virginia Company in exchange for a Patent—i.e. financial backing for the trip.” Thank you, Anne, for writing it and bitaboutbritain for sharing it. Let us count our blessings on Thanksgiving — and any other time our spirits are waning!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! I was surprised by all of the little details I came across that I’d forgotten or never learned.
That’s one reason I love Thanksgiving-there are so many blessings all around, but it’s so easy to overlook them in all of the busy times. (The pie is just a nice bonus ;))
It seems to me that Thanksgiving is an ideal moment to count blessings. Maybe we should adopt it over here!
This is so full of information, thank you Anne!
Thanks for reading, John! It took some time to separate out what I thought I remembered about it all from what actual history sources say happened 🙂
I agree – I learned a lot.
Just delightful, Anne!
Thanks Joy- I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving! (Maybe a snowy one in the Midwest?)
Thanks, Joy; Anne’s given us an excellent article!
An excellent article! Thanks! I just want to mention a typo I spotted in the paragraph about the Mayflower Compact. It is “principles,” not “principals.” (It’s an easy slip to fix.)
It’s fixed, thanks.
Thanks Dorothy, and thanks for the catch- oh dear, and I just corrected that same error for a student!
Thank you, Anne. Best of thanksgiving, to you and yours. May this be the first of many more.
Thanks so much- and a very happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Thanks, Rick! Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks to Anne for such a marvellous post, much of which I knew about, but it’s always good to be reminded and to learn a bit more.
Thank you, Peter!
Thanks, Peter; I confess that a lot of it was news to me – fascinating.