First Thanksgiving For Kids Teach Your Kids The True Meaning Of This Festival

The modern Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year.

The first-ever Thanksgiving that was recorded in history took place in 1621. Native Americans and Pilgrims celebrated the harvest for three days.

The idea behind the present-day festival is to show gratitude for all things achieved and for the people close to you. However, the very first Thanksgiving wasn't held to show gratitude. Instead, it was a celebration and rejoicing for surviving the harsh winter months and having a successful harvest.

It is crucial that children learn the true facts surrounding the first Thanksgiving and the events that followed it in the past. It is the combined responsibility of parents and teachers at school to teach kids all about Thanksgiving and why it is celebrated.

If you find reading this article to be an interesting experience, you might also enjoy discovering the history of Thanksgiving for kids and Canadian Thanksgiving facts here at Kidadl.

The True History Of Thanksgiving For Kids

Teachers at school are constantly making efforts to teach kids the real meaning of Thanksgiving. One of the steps involved is to inform them about the true events that led to the first Thanksgiving.

European settlers that came to present-day North America, then known as New England or the New World, arrived in Plymouth on board the Mayflower during the winter months. The settlers from England were at a disadvantage as they hadn't predicted the cold that would greet them when they arrived in November.

One of the native tribes, the Wampanoag tribe that was already living in that area, came forward to help the new settlers.

The people of the tribe taught the settlers how to cultivate corn and utilize fish to provide fertilization for the fields. They did it in order to gain allies against other enemy tribes.

Subsequently, it is believed that the Native Americans and the settlers, who were called the Pilgrims, thanked God for a good harvest season with a feast and celebration that lasted for three days.

The Backstory Of Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving story told to the new generation of the country can be considered to be just that, a story, developed over the years as the United States of America evolved into the nation it is today. The portrayal of Native Americans in terms of their involvement in the festival of Thanksgiving is inaccurate.

The first Thanksgiving occurred in fall 1621. One of the major misconceptions of this event is that it was held in order to thank God for the good harvest. However, the truth is that it was not a show of gratitude towards godly beings.

The Pilgrims thanked the heavenly beings by fasting or offering prayers. However, the function that took place in the past was not fasting but feasting. The Pilgrims hunted and held a party to celebrate surviving the extreme cold weather.

The accounts of this first Thanksgiving do not mention the Native Americans' point of view. Furthermore, according to experts, there are just two accounts from the colonist's point of view that can be considered as primary sources.

One was Edward Winslow's account that talked about the generous harvest they secured, and the other one was from William Bradford, the Governor of the Plymouth colony.

Both records do not mention much about the involvement of Native Americans in the event and their perspective. There was very little written about the presence of Native Americans in either of these two records.

The Plymouth colony was added to Massachusetts, and the founding fathers of the country emerged from the Pilgrims while no one remembered or mentioned the past with Native Americans. Even when George Washington proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1789, there was no mention about their contribution or suffering.

Later on, the current age idea of Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday was created by Sarah Josepha Hale. When the Civil War took place during the 1860s, Sarah, who was the editor of 'Godey's Lady's Book', started a campaign to celebrate an annual national Thanksgiving holiday.

Due to the rediscovery of the 1621 narrative of Bradford in the 1850s amidst the rising tension, it gained enough momentum to reach President Abraham Lincoln. He approved and announced it in one of his speeches while the Civil War was happening.

Arrival Of The Pilgrims

Over the course of history, the early settlers of Plymouth came to be known as the Pilgrims. They were Puritans from England that needed a new place to start over and practice their religious beliefs freely.

Puritans were English Protestants that desperately tried to get themselves separated from the Church of England. At first, they migrated to Holland, where they stayed for several years. But after facing financial problems for 12 years, they received help from some of the English merchants who provided them with funds to sail to the New World.

Around 102 men and women along with children boarded the ship Mayflower in 1620. They were supposed to reach the part of the land where present-day New York City is located after being on the Mayflower for around 66 days. However, they instead reached the shore of present-day Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The land they decided to settle in then was named Plymouth after the port in Devon they had left from. They arrived here in November 1620 and had to immediately deal with the winter season and its extreme cold conditions. They were then helped by the Native Americans already living in that area.

Native American History

The history of Thanksgiving from the Native Americans' perspective and their life experiences, in general, has been said to have been overshadowed by the mainstream ideas of the collective 'new' citizens of America.

Native Americans helped help the Pilgrims to settle and show them how to cultivate the land they occupied and how to feed themselves while facing harsh climate conditions.

After the season changed and the crops grew well, the Pilgrims decided to celebrate the success with hunting and feasting. On the first day, when they were hunting for deer and other wild animals, the people of the tribe heard gunshots.

Thinking that they might be on the verge of war, their chief, Massasoit, along with some 90 other men, visited the place where the Pilgrims were staying.

There they found that instead of a fight, the Pilgrims had a feast. Although being uninvited, the Native Americans became a part of this celebration. However, the truce and peace between these two populations didn't last long.

The tribe witnessed the death of the son of their chief, Massasoit, and they had to suffer as more and more colonists came over and fought over pieces of land or resources. The festival of Thanksgiving isn't one of gratitude and celebration for the Native Americans.

Instead, they are reminded of the struggle of their ancestors and their sacrifices as the country developed, and the people repressed and misconstrued the identity of Native Americans.

Therefore, teachers at school and parents at home have the duty to teach their kids about the history of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Feast

Many festivals have certain food items or a special meal that is commonly enjoyed during the festival or associated with the festival itself. Thanksgiving is one of the most famous festivals in terms of its festive meal.

The traditional food prepared for this festival consists of turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and green beans. Yet, this delicious meal wasn't the one that was enjoyed at the first Thanksgiving.

It is believed that they did not even have turkey at the first Thanksgiving. Turkey only became a traditional part of the Thanksgiving feast after President Abraham Lincoln declared this day a national holiday.

In the olden times, the potato wasn't a vegetable that had been introduced to that part of the land yet. Instead, they had to suffice with what they could afford and find at that time. This consisted of corn, deer meat, fish, and similar food items.

The feast that people enjoy today is more elaborate and wide in range.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for the first Thanksgiving for kids, then why not take a look at does Britain celebrate Thanksgiving or why do we eat turkey on Thanksgiving?