Recently I was in the local school supply store here in Nashville looking for Thanksgiving stickers and books for my fourth grade students. After looking for several minutes among the seasonal and holiday material, I finally gave up and sought the help of the store clerk.
“Could you tell me where I would find the Thanksgiving materials? Things like Pilgrims and Indians or the Mayflower?” The clerk looked at me rather puzzled, and said, “I don’t think we have anything like that, but we do have pumpkins and scarecrows.”
Later I was relating this experience to a friend who owns a Christian book store and she promptly told me Thanksgiving is being squeezed out by Halloween and Christmas. She said the Thanksgiving story of the Pilgrims has slowly but surely been rewritten. Rather than “thankfulness” expressed to their Creator, the Pilgrims’ thankfulness is being redirected toward the Indians. Even when the Pilgrims are mentioned, there is little emphasis on their Christian faith or the hardships they were willing to endure for religious freedom.
This has gotten me to thinking how important it is for us to tell the real story of Thanksgiving to our grandchildren. Our grandchildren need to hear how in 1620, 122 men, women, boys, and girls left Plymouth, England, and were willing to brave 66 days crossing the Atlantic Ocean cramped inside a merchant ship called The Mayflower. They need to understand the sacrifice made by this small but very courageous group of people. A sacrifice which meant over half of them would not survive the first winter in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts.
In November, 1621, William Bradford, governor of the Plymouth Colony declared a feast to give thanks to God for the Pilgrims’ first harvest. Over 90 Wampanoag Indians were invited to join the 52 remaining Pilgrims in a feast. Were the Pilgrims grateful to these Native Americans for all their help? Of course! They were particularly thankful for Squanto, a keen-eyed Patuxet, who shared his knowledge and ways of growing corn, beans, and squash. Together the Pilgrims and Indians shared in a Thanksgiving feast that lasted three days.
Our children and grandchildren need to hear this story again and again. It is only because of God’s gracious providence working in the lives of these forefathers and mothers that we have the freedoms we do today. Let’s not forget.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Pam
