Thanksgiving to whom?
Last Tuesday, my boss's boss said to us workers: "I thank you for all that you do." Thus, for him, thanksgiving was a day to thank his workers. When you type in "thanksgiving" and "Indian," the first Google search returns http://www.caffeinedestiny.com/tigiving.html. On this website we read: " At the end of their first year, the Puritans held a "harvest feast" celebrating the fruits of their farming efforts. The feast honored Squanto and their friends, the Wampanoag Indians. The feast was followed by three days of "thanksgiving" celebrating their good fortune."
This is some great revisionist history. What really happened is described to us in a letter from Edward Winslow: "Our corn [i.e. wheat] did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown. They came up very well, and blossomed, but the sun parched them in the blossom. Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
Note the following differences:
1.) Winslow states emphatically "Praise be to God" not "Praise be to Squanto." In fact, Squanto is not even mentioned by name.
2.) Winslow and his countrymen were Pilgrims, not Puritans.
3.) Winslow never mentions "good fortune." He specifically mentions the "goodness of God."
So the question to you dear reader, is to whom do you give thanks? Yourself for being such a good guy? to your boss for providing work or to your workers? Or to God, from Whom all blessings flow?
This is some great revisionist history. What really happened is described to us in a letter from Edward Winslow: "Our corn [i.e. wheat] did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown. They came up very well, and blossomed, but the sun parched them in the blossom. Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
Note the following differences:
1.) Winslow states emphatically "Praise be to God" not "Praise be to Squanto." In fact, Squanto is not even mentioned by name.
2.) Winslow and his countrymen were Pilgrims, not Puritans.
3.) Winslow never mentions "good fortune." He specifically mentions the "goodness of God."
So the question to you dear reader, is to whom do you give thanks? Yourself for being such a good guy? to your boss for providing work or to your workers? Or to God, from Whom all blessings flow?