Happy Thanksgiving!!! And Myths

Myth #1: The happy Pilgrims were celebrating a great harvest

Actually, the harvest of 1621, when the legend of our Thanksgiving began, wasn't great at all. The barley, wheat, and peas the Pilgrims brought with them from England had failed. Fortunately, the corn did well enough that they were able to double their weekly food rations.

The Pilgrims were happy to be alive: The previous winter had wiped out 47 people--almost half their community. It wasn't a coincidence that the corn did well. A man named Squanto, who was a member of the Wampanoag tribe, coached theWhat's more: The guests brought most of the food. When the Pilgrims invited their Native American guests, they weren't prepared to feed everyone who came. A Wampanoag chief, Massasoit, sent his men home for supplies.

The party lasted three days. They played games, shot guns, shot bows and arrows, and played something called "stool ball." (It's not what it sounds like! The game was like croquet--not something they played because they didn't have a pigskin handy.) Despite what you see in some paintings, the Native American guests didn't wear giant feathered headdresses. Those were worn by Plains Indians.

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