By the time the Harvest Festival was about to arrive, the first year had been productive...for the English settlers in Plymouth who we have come to know as "the Pilgrim Fathers."And fortunately, it has been documented. An Edward Winslow kept his fellow Englishmen and family aware and up to date as to the Pilgrim's progress. Here are some of his thoughts and conclusions:
" By the time the summer of 1621 had ended, 7 dwelling homes had been established including the common house, and 4 other buildings for the need of the community. Along with these achievements, 20 acres of Indian corn had reached an abundance harvest including 6 acres of barley which had been productive yet with mixed results. Both of these fields had been fertilized with herrings (fish). The acres given to peas had not proved so well. Although the peas had come up from the ground with a vitality with blossoms, the sun had parched them.
An unfortunate event had happened on January 14th, 1621. The new "Common House", a place for many families to live and survive....had caught fire...and burnt to the ground. It was found necessary to build yet another Common House".
The peace treaty between the pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe was established and honored in the early spring of 1621. Prior to that, the pilgrims did not want the local Indians of the area to know of the many deaths among them (the pilgrims), and would bury their dead in the night hours so the Indians would not know the extent of deaths that had occurred. The place for these burials is referred to as "Copt's Hill". Before winter concluded, 50 % of the original 102 passengers on the Mayflower were dead.
The first contact the pilgrims had made with the Native Americans were with Samoset of the Algenquin Sagamore tribe. Later they brought "Squanto", who happen to be the sole survivor of the Pataxet people, now a representative for the Wampanoag tribe.
There was another tribe, the feared Naragansett tribe, which lived to the west of the adjourning tribes. They had escaped all the European illnesses that had decimated the tribes to the East. They actually sent a war like threat to the pilgrims, sending arrow heads wrapped in a snakeskin, a sign they were going to attack the pilgrims. Gov. Bradford sent a message back to the Narragansett leaders, wrapping gunpowder and shot into the same snakeskin that had been sent by the Naragansett leaders saying in essence: "Bring it". They never attacked the pilgrims.
The general sickness in the winter months (January through March 1621) among the pilgrims that caused so many deaths (50% of their total populace) was pneumonia. In fact, at one point, there were only 7 pilgrims (mostly women and children) who were physically strong enough to care fore the sick.
During that time complaining and blame were heard among the pilgrims. One man cursed his wife when he became sick, stating she had convinced him to go on the expedition in the first place. Others claimed they had been lied to and given false hope upon entry into the New World, and still others refused to help those who were sick, in fear of getting sick themselves.
Some interesting notes:
1. Although a knife, spoon, and large napkin were used as part of their necessities to enjoy a meal, forks were not. In order to eat meat, it was necessary to apply the use of your fingers! Also, plates were often shared, and drinks in a cup as well. Just hope you weren't the last to drink....the backwash...yuk! lol.
2. The area was filled with not only mussels, but lobster. The pilgrims had access to some of the rich seafood of the region, not to mention the cods and the eels, which the pilgrims seem to go "crazy after." For example, what is an "eel pie"? Whatever it was, the pilgrims were crazy about it! Although oysters were not available in the immediate region, Native American traders brought the oysters...to the tastebuds of the pilgrims!
3. Pumpkins, a cool discovery! The pumpkins and its various attributes were received from the Native Americans with much approval!
4.Pumpkins were accompanied by squash and cucumbers, providing a salad stimulus along with lettuce and possibly tomatoes.
5. Another help for the pilgrims in reference to food supplies was the use of herbs, which provided the a type of seasoning and spice to add to their meals.
6. The Wampanoag male child would reach manhood at the age of 11. At that age, a young Wampanoag boy would be blindfolded and taken into the wilderness where they were left to survive on their own for a period of time that could be several months.
7. Pilgrim children learned o help serve meals when they were quite young, and it was a custom for a child not to speak at the dinner table, unless they were spoken to.
As the summer of 1621 came to a close, the exact date of the celebration of a Harvest Festival, (what we call Thanksgiving) is not given, yet it was more than likely the event was celebrated earlier than late November, most likely being celebrated sometime in October or even late September.
It is important to note a Day of Thanksgiving to a pilgrim was actually a day of fasting. It was a time to acknowledge God's provision. Even in 1789 when George Washington proclaimed a "Day of Thanksgiving", it was to be marked as a day of fasting with this thought in mind: our hunger was to remind us of how well God provides.
A Harvest Festival, on the other hand, was a fall celebration that had been observed for a number of centuries in various cultures, both Christian and those of other religions.
It was a time to inventory crops and livestock, and store them in preparation for the winter. This was a particularly common custom found in the northern hemisphere, in the northern European climates where winters could be much severe. It was not uncommon for many to pass away during these cold and bitter months, and the ratio of death among villages could range as high as 50% of the general population, although that would be in extreme conditions.
The northern winters made its fame not so much in the months of November or December, rather it took hold around mid January through the month of March..as the cold of winter continued to linger and at times gathered strength.
Our Christmas celebrations have origin in a widely known festival known as "Saturnalia", celebrated by numerous cultures of that era that were foreign to any Christian influence, It was celebrated around December 25th, and served as a reminder Spring was around the corner...even though the darkest months of winter were fast approaching. In fact, the Roman Catholic church established the birth of Christ celebration to offset and replace the Saturnalia celebration in the early 300's A.D.
As the day of the Harvest Festival began to arrive in that year of 1621, the pilgrims had suffered much, worked extremely hard, and learned much from Squanto and the Wampanoags in reference to planting crops, hunting, and fishing, as well as negotiating fiercely with Native Americans in seeking their survival. The Wampanoags in turn were true to the Treaty of Peace made in the spring of 1621 with the pilgrims, and the day was coming...for a Harvest Celebration, a Thanksgiving for the first year of establishing the settlement of Plymouth.
It had been a much different experience from the day the pilgrims had left England for the New World with visions of a new found freedom, for many of their own had died in pursuit of that freedom, a religious freedom, an economic freedom, and social freedom. Their determination and passion was relentless with their dreams still firm in their minds. The God they believed in was with them.
Yet, it was an uphill battle, met with new challenges almost daily. A ship had arrived in November of 1621...smaller than the Mayflower, at first unknown to be friend or foe. As the passengers arrived in the new found colony of Plymouth, there were a total of 35 new English settlers present. The ship that had brought them to the New World was named "The Fortune".
Yet, these passengers had arrived ill prepared. They had little in regards to tools, ammunition, or even extra clothing. More importantly, The Fortune had brought no supplies for the English settlement. Now the first year harvest would have to feed 35 more people.
Their survival had not yet been made...secure.
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