The pilgrims arrived in Plymouth in the fall of 1620. Throughout their first brutal winter they lost almost half of the passengers and crew to the harsh conditions. Thanksgiving, a long-standing American holiday when American families gather to give thanks for their many blessings, hasn’t always been celebrated with turkey and cranberry sauce. And, it hasn’t always been celebrated on the fourth Thursday of  November. For those of you at AHS who don’t know much about its true origins, let me catch you up.

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in November of 1621. The Mayflower Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth in the fall of 1620. Those who survived that first harsh winter forged one of the rare positive relationships between settlers and the Native American people. In the spring they came to meet Squanto, a Patuxet tribe member, who helped the pilgrims learn the ways of the land, by teaching them how to farm corn, fish, extract maple from trees, and recognize the edible plants they could eat. In the fall of 1621, they had a successful harvest, and in order to celebrate their success, the governor called for a banquet to give thanks. This is now known as Thanksgiving.

The second “Thanksgiving” was held in 1623. A long drought had ended and during this year, and the governor called for a fasting before the feast. The tradition of fasting and a Thanksgiving feast became tradition in the New England area. In 1817, New York adopted it as an official holiday. A couple of other states made efforts to do so as well, but each state celebrated on a different day. Then in 1827 a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale began taking steps to help establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. After 36 years, her call was answered and in 1863 Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday. This was during the civil war and Lincoln hoped it might help “heal the nation.”

Fast forward to today and we see a very different, but ever festive Thanksgiving. Today’s classic Thanksgiving menu includes Turkey (roasted or deep fried), stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and of course, pumpkin pie. Starting in 1924, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has brought families together to watch our favorite characters, like Snoopy, fly over New York City while celebrities sing and dance below.  For those of us in Aspen, we grab our ski gear and hit the slopes for opening day. Then in the evening we help prepare dinner with friends and family and spending the night eating and socializing.

The President of the United States will attend the annual turkey pardoning ceremony where he pardons one turkey from the fate of ending up on the dinner table that night. This tradition was started by President Truman, in 1947.

However you celebrate Thanksgiving Day, it is important to remember to say thank you to your friends and family and tell them how grateful you are to have them in your life and to appreciate all the blessings in your life and acknowledge that so many in the world do not have nearly as much as we do to be thankful for. And, of course, Thanksgiving is one of the only days of the year when it is acceptable to eat way too much, so do take advantage of that!

Below are a few fun facts!

• Only male turkeys gobble, females do not
• Benjamin Franklin thought the turkey should be the national bird, not the eagle
• Wild turkeys can run up to 20 miles per hour
• 46 million turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving Day in America
• There was no turkey served at the first Thanksgiving