The first traditional Thanksgiving between the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans occured in 1621. That’s over three centuries ago! But did you know there were other feasts similar to that one too? Previously, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his group of Spanish colonists landed in Florida where they held a Thanksgiving feast to celebrate their safe arrival. Near El Paso, Spaniard Don Juan de Oñate decided to give his expedition party a rest and throw a Thanksgiving celebration.

Other interesting facts about Thanksgiving are…

…although today’s Thanksgiving meal usually features turkey and pumpkin pie, the pilgrims and Native Americans actually didn’t eat these! Instead of turkey, they ate  lobster, deer meat, and duck. Also there were no ovens to bake any pumpkin pies, though some historians believe pumpkins and squash were present—just not in pie form!

…the pilgrims and natives had different eating habits. While the colonists ate breakfast, dinner, and supper, the Native Americans just ate whenever they were hungry and often had pots cooking throughout the day.

…the reason the holiday is called Thanksgiving is because the colonists wanted to express gratitude for surviving the journey from England to the New Land. Native Americans already had a long history of harvest festivals and ceremonial dances to give thanks for a successful crop.

…Thanksgiving is also a symbol of friendship and cooperation between the colonists and Native Americans. There was a lot of tension when the colonists arrived because the Native Americans were already there living their lives. This was one of the few moments of peaceful interaction between the two groups.

Want to learn more about the history of Thanksgiving? Visit History.com – The First Thanksgiving, which is where I found a lot of these interesting facts.