When one thinks of the Thanksgiving holiday, images of Native Americans and Pilgrims sharing a meal comes to mind. However, long before the Pilgrims made it to America, the Wampanoag Indians gave thanks to their gods for good harvest seasons throughout the year. Once the English made it across the pond, they brought their own harvest celebrations to America. In fact, modern day Thanksgiving is a combination of two ancient holiday celebrations: an ancient English harvest festival and the Puritan Thanksgiving. However, scholars credit the celebration in Plymouth in the fall of 1621 as the historical birth of American Thanksgiving. Contrary to popular belief, Thanksgiving was not instated as a permanent, national holiday until 1941. Prior to that date, previous presidents had to pronounce days of recognition for the holiday.
Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated with lots of food: turkey, pumpkin pie, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rice dressing, hot rolls, sweet potatoes, etc. But our fore-father’s Thanksgiving was quite different. Early Pilgrims and the Wampanog Indians would have eaten whatever fowl they could kill, which included: wild turkeys, ducks, geese, swan, and even eagle. Stuffing may have been present, but stuffing would have just been herbs and onions. Sweetened cranberry sauce would not have been present either, since sugar was an expensive and scarce item in England. What about the quintessential pumpkin pie? Pumpkin may have been present, but not the delicious pumpkin pie we are used to today. Again, sugar, butter, and flour would have been scarce in the fledgling colony. The first Th
anksgiving meal probably included some sort of fowl, corn, beans, squash or pumpkins, wild blueberries, and produce from the Pilgrim gardens (carrots, turnips, cabbages, onions, etc.) If the original holiday included such meager and simple ingredients, how did it evolve into today’s Thanksgiving staples? Simple, early Americans cooked whatever they could harvest or hunt regionally.
How do you and your family celebrate Thanksgiving? At the library, there are several programs and activities celebrating Thanksgiving, such as:
Bayou Blue:
11/2/15 at 4:00-5:00 PM “Terra Cotta Pot Turkeys” for kids
11/10/15 at 5:00-6:00 PM “Edible Cornucopias” for kids
Choctaw:
11/3/15 at 11:15-12:15 PM “Thanksgiving Centerpiece” for adults
11/24/15 at 2:00-3:00 PM “Foam Turkeys” for kids
Thibodaux:
11/9/15 at 4:00-5:00 PM “Handprint Turkey Table Décor” for kids
11/14/15 at 10:00-11:00 AM “Decorative Thanksgiving Napkin Rings” All Ages
Raceland:
11/18/15 at 10:30-11:30 AM “Pre-school Storytime and Craft: Turkeys” for kids
11/19/15 at 4:00-5:00 PM “Thanksgiving Tree Craft” for All Ages
Lockport:
11/12/15 at 10:30-11:30 AM “Gobble Up Good Books Storytime” for kids
11/19/15 at 4:00-5:00 PM “Turkeys R Us” for kids
Gheens:
11/11/15 at 5:00-6:00 PM “Coffee Filter Turkey Craft” for kids
11/23/15 at 5:00-6:00 PM “Storytime: Turkeys Galore” for kids
Larose:
11/15/15 at 11:00-12:00 PM “It’s Turkey Time” for kids
South Lafourche:
11/11/15 at 10:30-11:30 AM “Thanksgiving Centerpiece” for adults
11/24/15 at 5:30-6:30 PM “Mini Turkey Centerpiece” for kids
Golden Meadow:
11/17/15 at 5:00-6:00 PM “Dancing Turkeys” for kids