In spite of their earlier plight, the pilgrims’ did not let the conditions get the best of them. They celebrated and acknowledged the blessings of divine Providence. We, too, have so many blessings that are many in abundance; all we have to do is look around and consider all that the Lord has made and provided for us, thanking Him daily as we trust and obey His commands for our lives.
The following is from Bill Bennett’s Daily Almanac.
The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving
We know very little about the first Thanksgiving the Pilgrims celebrated in Plymouth. We know it took place in 1621 sometime after the autumn harvest. William Bradford, longtime governor of the colony, reported that after a “sad and lamentable” first few months that brought much sickness and death, the first harvest left them with “all things in good plenty,” including corn, “cod, bass, and other fish,” waterfowl, venison, and a “great store of wild turkeys.” Edward Winslow, one of the Pilgrims, left us the only other eyewitness account of the harvest feast in a letter he wrote on December 11, 1621. Though sparse in description, it conveys some sense of the joy and gratitude that must have marked the occasion:
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 fruits 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, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst 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.
—
The American Patriot’s Almanac
© 2008, 2010 by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb
Image:
“A depiction of early settlers of the Plymouth Colony sharing a harvest Thanksgiving meal with members of the local Wampanoag tribe at the Plymouth Plantation.” (Frederic Lewis/Archive Photos/Getty Images) via history.com