Where was the first Thanksgiving really held? We were taught in school that the Pilgrims landed and had a happy ol' feast with the Native Americans in Massachusetts. Um, that's not really correct. You see, the first Thanksgiving was not so much a feast, but an actual prayer of thanks to God for a safe voyage from England and landing at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia on December 4, 1619 - one year and then some ahead of the pilgrims at Massachusetts.
I'm personally a little annoyed that the teaching of Thanksgiving in our schools (public, private and Christian schools) maintain the Massachusetts version when relaying it to our children. Rally the troops and let's tell the real story. Perhaps you can then follow it up with the prettier, food-laden one.
Related articles:
~ http://www.berkeleyplantation.com
~ http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?featureid=50
~ http://www.nick.com/all_nick/tv_supersites/nick_news/stories_weekly.jhtml?pollId=470422263&wstory=0
~ http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=minisite_generic&content_type_id=872&display_order=1&mini_id=1083
PHOTO: Casey Higgins, Berkeley Plantation, Spring 2008
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