USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -There are differences between the food served at the first Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving food today. Blueberries, plums, grapes, gooseberries, raspberries, and cranberries are all indigenous to New England. Potatoes were not served at the first Thanksgiving, but there may have been Indian turnips and groundnuts.

Detailed explanation-2: -While Americans today see Thanksgiving as a time to reconnect with family members, the Pilgrims had a very basic reason for giving thanks in 1621-the fact that they managed to survive in a strange land.

Detailed explanation-3: -So, to the question “What did the Pilgrims eat for Thanksgiving, ” the answer is both surprising and expected. Turkey (probably), venison, seafood, and all of the vegetables that they had planted and harvested that year-onions, carrots, beans, spinach, lettuce, and other greens.

Detailed explanation-4: -Colonists in New England and Canada regularly observed “thanksgivings, ” days of prayer for such blessings as safe journeys, military victories, or abundant harvests. Americans model their holiday on a 1621 harvest feast shared between the Wampanoag people and the English colonists known as Pilgrims.

Detailed explanation-5: -"We know it took place over three days sometime between mid-September and early November in 1621, and was considered a harvest celebration following a successful planting of multicolored flint corn, or maize, ” says Sheehan. It wasn’t until 1863, during the Civil War, that Thanksgiving became a national holiday.