A Little History

The first Thanksgiving feast is reputed to have taken place in 1621 with the Pilgrims and some local Massachusetts Indians in attendance. Some historians give credit to the settlers at Jamestown, Virginia, because they celebrated the Harvest Home Festival, a traditional English autumnal rite, a few years before the Pilgrims.

The traditions of these colonial celebrations go back as long as men have cultivated the earth. In biblical times, the Hebrews celebrated the Feast of the Tabernacles, and a bit later, the Greeks put on an annual party to honor Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. The Romans feted Ceres, the goddess of grain, in a holiday called Cerealia (General Mills take note). In the Middle Ages the French celebrated the Feast of St. Martin of Tours as Martinmas, which featured a gala goose dinner.