15 Common Myths and Misconceptions About Thanksgiving
As an offering on this day of giving thanks, we brought a big platter of corrected information. You may have believed certain things about this holiday for way too long now, and we can’t have you looking silly while everyone else starts getting wise to the facts.
It’s not your fault. American history has a way of sanitizing certain events, or just oversimplifying more complicated events and wrapping them up in neat little packages. Neat little packages are nice and all, but they kind of irk us professional fact-finders. They’ve been known to trim facts to the point of changing our understanding of what actually happened. So although our platter has no neat packages, we hope you’ll enjoy its sweet, sweet perspective shift. Happy Thanksgiving!
Colonists on the Mayflower were not called “Pilgrims”
Pilgrim Hall Museum
“Pilgrim” is the term we commonly use today, but those who boarded the ship to start a new life in North America referred to themselves as “saints” or “separatists” because of their division from the Church of England. They were called “first-comers” or “forefathers” until around 1800, when the term “pilgrim” emerged, and stuck.
Turducken isn’t actually a new dish
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It was popularized in the early 2000s after John Madden spoke about it during Thanksgiving NFL games, but there are recipes that contain birds within each other dating back to the year 1700.
Popcorn was not at the first Thanksgiving
We can trace this myth back to the 1889 novel Standish of Standish by Jane G. Austin. During the 1620s, Plymouth planted Northern Flint corn, which doesn’t have kernels ideal for popping.
Tryptophan doesn’t make you sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner
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It’s true that turkey contains the amino acid tryptophan, and it’s true that the human body can use tryptophan to make serotonin, which helps us sleep, but turkey actually has less tryptophan than other foods like cheese and nuts. Those Thanksgiving sleepies are probably due to stuffing yourself silly.
The “Pilgrims” did not invite the Natives out of thanks
U.S. Historical Archives
The common understanding is that the “Pilgrims” invited Native Americans to the festival out of gratitude for helping with the harvest, but there’s no way to confirm that it’s true. Edward Winslow’s letter simply says “many of the Indians coming amongst us, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted.”
Pilgrims didn’t flee to America to escape religious persecution
The “Pilgrims” had already escaped persecution when they left England and moved to Leiden, Holland during the early 17th century. They had religious freedom, but had trouble making a living, and feared losing their English identity among the Dutch.
“Pilgrims” didn’t wear hats and shoes with buckles on Thanksgiving
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Considering this feast wasn’t a religious day, they likely wore their regular clothes, which could include a number of colors. Plain leather was used for shoe laces and belts because it was cheaper and more fashionable than buckles.
The Natives actually needed an alliance to protect against a warring tribe
California State Library
Sachem (or “chief”) Ousamequin needed a way to protect his people (the Wampanoags) against their rivals, the Narragansetts. For 50 years, this alliance was tested by colonial expansion, disease, and the exploitation of people and resources. Wampanoags today remember the Pilgrims’ entry to their homeland as a day of deep mourning.
“Thanksgiving” actually dates back to the 4th century
The tradition of a harvest festival in Britain dates back to pagan times, though the modern church-based festival began later. These ancient celebrations gave thanks for a successful harvest.
The 1621 celebration was not a “Thanksgiving”
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Pilgrims celebrated what they called “thanksgiving days” after fortunate events, but those were religious days where they’d go to church and give thanks to God. A letter by Alexander Young in the Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers called the occasion the “First Thanksgiving,” even though there’s no mention of “thanksgiving” in original texts.
Pumpkin pie was not served at the first “Thanksgiving”
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Pumpkin pie is synonymous with Thanksgiving, but the colonial settlement in Plymouth lacked an oven, making it difficult to bake such a dish. Many historians point out that the colonists also lacked the sweeteners needed to create desserts.
Thanksgiving wasn’t always held in November
George Washington was the first President to acknowledge Thanksgiving, designating Thursday, November 26, 1789, as “a day of prayer and gratitude.” Thomas Jefferson refused to declare a date, and James Madison set Thanksgiving in April of 1815. Thanksgiving didn’t get its official designation as the fourth Thursday of November until 1941.
Abraham Lincoln did not begin the turkey-pardoning tradition
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Lincoln’s youngest son Tad successfully argued against eating the turkey, and instead kept it as a pet. Turkey pardons happened sporadically, but it wasn’t until Ronald Reagan in 1989 that the pardoning became a formal tradition.
Canadians have celebrated Thanksgiving for much longer than Americans
Canadians have observed their own Thanksgiving since 1578 when explorer Sir Martin Frobisher set sail from England in an attempt to discover the Northwest Passage. To honor the safe journey, Frobisher and crew had a feast of meager rations — biscuits, salt beef, and peas.
It hasn’t always been about the turkey
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We know that the Ousamequin people brought five deer, but there’s no mention of turkeys. Turkey entered into Thanksgiving celebrations in the 1860s, but prior to that, the bird and the pilgrims were not part of anyone’s Thanksgiving celebrations.