Evolution of Thanksgiving

Alexander Grelier
11/27/18

The Evolution of Thanksgiving

Most Americans have heard the stories of the Pilgrims from Europe and Native Americans putting aside violence and celebrating and accepting each others cultures with food, games, prayers, and an overall togetherness. However, these "stories" really are just that. The real first thanksgivings were very different than how they're portrayed today, and there has been a lot of disturbing and interesting truths that have been covered up. Not only have tales about how thanksgiving first happened been made up, but even large corporations manipulate consumers into thinking that their product was used in the first thanksgivings! There is not even evidence that turkey, a worldwide symbol of Thanksgiving, was even served to the Pilgrims and Native Americans during that time.

The way Thanksgiving has been celebrated has been altered drastically over the years, and one of the main reasons of this is several different national leaders attempting to either guard the disturbing truth of the original thanksgiving or maximize profit made from that time of year. In one specific case though, Abraham Lincoln changed the way Thanksgiving was celebrated by declaring it a national holiday in an attempt to bring the nation back together after a Civil War that tore them apart. In the beginning, Pilgrims would capture lots of natives and sell them as slaves, and it wasn't until 1830 when New Englanders looked back on this as a happy holiday. For example, lots of people have heard stories of Squanto, the native american. While it is true that he helped Pilgrims by translating for them and teaching them effective ways to farm and fish, after celebrations and feasts, he was captured and sold into slavery in Europe. This is one of the many truths glossed over by national leaders to portray "The First Thanksgiving" as a very happy time. Another, is the fact that after celebrations, there would be deadly conflicts, and Pilgrims would wipe out loads of natives. Also, Thanksgiving used to be known as "Ragamuffin Day", which was celebrated much more like Halloween where people would dress up and go from house to house. This has also been covered up by national leaders because it portrayed a racist image. Lastly, even the date of when Thanksgiving is supposed to be celebrated has changed, when Teddy Roosevelt moved it forward a week to help marketing around Christmas time to help pull the United States out of the Great Depression.

Another way that the way Thanksgiving is celebrated is the food that is served. Although turkey today seems to be an essential part of Thanksgiving, nobody knows if it was even served during the first Thanksgivings! This is due to large corporations using advertisements telling us what is appropriate for our Thanksgiving meals. In fact, turkey battled other birds such as turkey, duck, and goose, to be the primary meat on the Thanksgiving table. It wasn't until the 1920's when turkey was the front-runner of all other birds, and it was advertisements by turkey companies that helped the bird succeed. The same happened with other iconic Thanksgiving foods, such as cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. It is now known that pumpkin pie wasn't even served at the "First Thanksgiving." Advertisers would even promote different tools to prepare and present food such as cooking bags, thermometers, and toasters. Over time, the way Thanksgiving has been celebrated has changed so much from the date to the food served at meals. This shows just how much influence national leaders and large corporations have had on the holiday.