The History of Thanksgiving and New Recipes to Try!

I think we all have a hazy understanding of Thanksgiving, but I decided to dive a little deeper and check out its history. Here’s what I found out.

The first Thanksgiving celebration in the United States was a 1621 harvest gathering in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was shared by the English Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people.

The Mayflower arrived off the coast of Cape Cod in November of 1620. It carried 102 Puritans who established Plymouth colony. Half of the colonists died during that first harsh winter.

Squanto, a Patuxet man, later taught the survivors local farming, fishing, and hunting techniques. In the autumn of 1621, a successful harvest was achieved. Governor William Bradford called for a three-day celebration. Chief Massasoit was invited along with ninety Wampanoag men. They shared venison and local crops.

Later, Presidents George Washington, John Adams and James Madison issued occasional national days of thanksgiving in honor of military or constitutional milestones.

In 1863 Abraham Lincoln (during the Civil War) issued a national proclamation setting the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving, thus setting the holiday as we know it today.

Between 1939 to 1941 though, Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up one week to lengthen the Christmas shopping season during the Great Depression. This caused a lot of confusion and some states celebrated the old date instead. In 1941 congress passed a resolution officially designating the fourth Thursday of November as the permanent date for Thanksgiving and it has been that way ever since.

The first Thanksgiving meal hardly resembled what we think of as traditional Thanksgiving fare. It consisted of waterfowl, venison, seafood, and corn porridge.

The blueprint for our “modern” meal was largely created in the 1800’s by Sarah Josepha Hale. She was the editor of the influential magazine: Godey’s Lady’s Book. She published countless articles detailing menu ideas.

Hale chose Turkey as a main dish because it was easily accessible, fed a large group, and was native to America. Her chosen side dishes were savory stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, and roasted winter squash, much as we see the meal today. As sugar became cheaper, cranberries were boiled down with sugar to add color to the meal.

In the 20^th century, the Thanksgiving meal changed even further when shelf-stable convenience items were introduced.

In 1941, Ocean Spray introduced jellied cranberry sauce in the now famous log-shape.

In 1955, Dorcas Reilly from the Campbell Soup Company invented the green bean casserole. It was heavily marketed to homemakers and remains a standard for many families.

Early colonists did in fact eat stewed pumpkin, but the modern pie became standard in the 1920’s when Libby’s came out with canned pumpkin puree.

Today, many families continue to eat the traditional menu and turkey remains the most common centerpiece of the meal. But our diverse cultural makeup means that dishes vary by region and heritage. Often tamales, rice stuffing, collard greens and macaroni and cheese are served as well.

My Thanksgiving meal wouldn’t be complete without candied sweet potatoes with miniature marshmallows. I’m pretty sure the Pilgrims didn’t serve that at the first feast!

Whatever your family eats, one thing hasn’t changed. Thanksgiving provides us with a wonderful opportunity to thank God for our many blessings.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18.
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-7

Here is my Aunt Ruth’s recipe for sweet potatoes. I love them!

AUNT RUTH’S CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

4-5 sweet potatoes
¼ cup of milk or cream
1 jar apple jelly
1 bag miniature marshmallows

Heat oven to 375 (or heat broiler). Peel and boil the sweet potatoes in a large pot of salted water until soft. Drain. Mash the potatoes with milk until creamy. Spread them in a greased 9 x 13” pan. With two spoons, dollop the jar of apple jelly evenly over the top of the potatoes. Sprinkle an even layer of marshmallows over the top. Bake or broil until the tops of the marshmallows are toasted. Don’t burn them!

The melding of flavors is delicious! You can use yams if you prefer and if you can’t find apple jelly, I’ve used apricot marmalade instead and it was yummy.

TURKEY ROLLS

Ann Kirsten

I remember being a kid and having to wait all day for the big meal was torture. Why not start the celebration with breakfast? The kids can help you make these easy turkey rolls.

Ingredients:

1 tube of Grands cinnamon rolls
1 pound of bacon
Candy eyes
Candy corn

Open the tube of cinnamon rolls. Jump out of your skin (I do every time). Place the rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake the cinnamon rolls as directed on the package. Cool a bit and then frost with the included frosting.

Meanwhile, have Dad fry up the bacon. Why not cook it all? It will surely get eaten. Break the bacon into halves or thirds (depending on size) and tuck the bacon into the back of the baked rolls. I found it helpful to make a slit with a sharp knife in the rolls first.

Decorate the front of the rolls with the candies. The frosting will make them stick.

Take pictures of the funny turkeys. Serve with eggs if desired.

TURKEY CHARCUTERIE

Ann Kirsten

Clear plastic cups
Salami, cheese, fruit, pickles, etc.
Round crackers
Candy eyes

Put cubed cheese or apples in the bottom of a cup. Slice pickles and apples for the tail. Curl the salami to look more like feathers. You can use toothpicks to stack olives. Using cream cheese, glue the eyes and a cheese beak onto a round cracker. Set it on top for the turkey head.

This is the perfect snack for Christmas movie watching while you wait for the turkey to roast.