Welcome To My Thanksgiving Page The First Thanksgiving
The summer of 1621 was beautiful. The weather had warmed early in May. The Pilgrims had been busy building. The first building to go up was their church. The church building was the center of all their activities. A group of men had traveled north to trade with the Indians. Much food had been put in the store house for the coming winter. Governor William Bradford declared a day of public Thanksgiving to be held in October of each year, following the fall harvest. An Indian had befriended the Pilgrims, Squanto. Squanto had been captured in 1605 by explorers and educated in England. He took the Pilgrims under his wing and had taught them much about in this wild new land. How to stalk deer, capture eels, catch fish, and he also taught them about corn. He instructed them to plant the pumpkins among the corn. The corn was fertilized with fish. That first summer the Pilgrims harvested twenty full acres of corn. Squanto introduced the Pilgrims to beaver pelts. These pelts were traded to England at top quality prices. Beaver pelts were the Pilgrim's means of getting money and corn was their physical . The Pilgrim's Indian friends were invited to their first Thanksgiving. The Indians arrived a day early and they were ninety in number! The Pilgrims fell to their knees in prayer, asking God to help sustain them through the winter. Because they would have to use some of their winter stores to feed everyone. However, the Indians did not arrive empty handed. The Indians came bringing with them already dressed deer and wild turkeys. The Indians taught the Pilgrims how to make pudding and hoe cakes from the corn, and how to roast the corn over a hot fire, Popcorn! Many food was brought from the Pilgrim's vegetable gardens. made from wild grapes was served. It was an occasion for great celebrating and much thanksgiving to God. Wouldn't it have been wonderful to have been there with those first Pilgrims? Have we drifted so very far from our forefathers dreams? Do we look to God for our very existence or have we become so egotistical that we think we don't need Him? "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJ)



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