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Sperryville
By SALLY KEYSER
* 987-8471
This week is Thanksgiving, and as we think of all those affected in the Sept. 11 attack, anthrax and our soldiers fighting in Afghanistan, we have more reason than ever to count our blessings and be thankful for each day. •
The tradition of the Pilgrims first Thanksgiving is a myth and a legend. The Pilgrims did not celebrate Thanksgiving the next autumnal year. Their feast was after their first harvest in 1621. It is this feast that people often refer to as “The First Thanksgiving”. This feast has become a model that we think of for our own Thanksgiving celebration.
They never repeated this feast, so it cannot be called the beginning of a tradition.
To these devoutly religions people, a day of Thanksgiving was a day of prayer and fasting, and could be held anytime they felt an extra day of thanks was called for.
We assume the feast was eaten outside, based on the fact that the Colonist did not have a building large enough to accommodate all the people. Native people were definitely among the invited guest.
The feast went on for three days and they probably had wild turkey, and we know venison (deer) was provided by the Indians. There was enough wild fowl to supply the village for a week. This included duck, geese, and swan, as well as fish. The main food mentioned by the Pilgrims was wheat, Indian com, corn meal and peas. They probably had a pumpkin pudding sweetened with honey.
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