The pilgrims may not have actually celebrated the ‘first‘ Thanksgiving in America in 1621.
Three popular examples that are often referenced as the actual “firsts” and that pre-date the Pilgrims date include: (for reference, the Pilgrim’s Thanksgiving took place sometime between September and early October of 1621)
- September 8, 1565: This day of thanksgiving was celebrated by a group of Spaniards lead by Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilé, in Saint Augustine, Florida. Interestingly, Menéndez de Avilé even invited the Timucua tribe to dine with them on that Thanksgiving.
- 1598: In San Elizario, Texas, Spanish explorer Juan de Onate, on the banks of the Rio Grande, along with those with him held a Thanksgiving festival after they successfully crossed over 350 miles of Mexican desert.
- December 4th, 1619: Thirty-eight settlers landed on James River, on a ship called the Margaret, about 20 miles from Jamestown. Their charter required that the day of landing be set aside as a day of thanksgiving both on that first date and every year after. This tradition died out due to the “Powhatan tribe uprising of 1622” where many of the settlers were killed and most of the rest fled to Jamestown. (The Powhatan were the family of Pocahontas, who did not marry Captain John Smith but John Rolfe, but that’s another story…)
Demand Euphoria!
The Haus of Dcaligari 