The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 as a three-day feast and celebration of the Pilgrims’ second harvest at Plymouth Rock. The first year for the new settlers had been a difficult one and half of the colonists didn’t make it. But they fared much better during the second year. They made peace with their neighbors, a Native American tribe known as the Wampanoag, and learned much more about farming in their new land, thanks to the help of the Wampanoag leader Massasoit. Their large harvest and new friendships definitely gave everyone a reason to rejoice!
Massasoit and ninety of his tribesmen joined the pilgrims in the first Thanksgiving feast, which included deer brought by the Wampanoag Indian corn and other bounty of the harvest. The original Thanksgiving did not include turkey or pumpkin pie like they do now!
In England, it was tradition to serve food buffet-style, so the first Thanksgiving was offered the same way. The only utensils available were knives and spoons, and everyone either ate directly from the serving dishes (using a large napkin to hold hot food) or shared a wooden plate called a “trencher". Since the whole feast was organized by only four pilgrim women, they were probably really glad not to have as many dishes to clean up!
At all of the meals served, everyone said grace to thank God for their good fortune in their crop and their peaceful relationship with their Native American neighbors. These prayers, a “giving of thanks," is what gives us the name for the holiday that we use to this day.
In 1777 the Continental Congress in America declared the first official national Thanksgiving, and Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. We now celebrate Thanksgiving on the third Thursday each November.
Many of the foods we eat on Thanksgiving now are foods that are traditional to the New England area where the Pilgrims first settled. Turkey, pumpkins, and cranberries are popular at Thanksgiving dinners all over the country!
You can celebrate your own thanks and giving by making this Cranberry bread with your family to serve at your holiday meal. Better yet, make two and give one loaf to a friend to commemorate how the Wampanoag shared with the pilgrims!
Holiday Cranberry Quick BreadOftentimes, when we see cranberries on the holiday dinner table, they are in the form a jellied sauce that still retains the shape of the can they came in! This recipe, which incorporates fresh cranberries in a delicious sweet quick bread, is a wonderful new twist on holiday tradition. You can use it for a holiday brunch or sit-down dinner. Also, you can make it in advance and freeze it to cut down on your holiday baking!
- 2 cups of sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup butter or margarine
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp grated orange peel (optional)
- ¾ cup orange juice
- 1 ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
- 1 ½ cup yellow raisins (or substitute in more cranberries)
Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a large bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly. A fork works just fine for this!
Add egg, orange juice, and orange peel all at once stir until mixture is evenly moist. Fold in raisins and cranberries. If you choose not to use raisins, double the amount of cranberries in your
recipes.
Spoon into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and ten minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
If the top browns too quickly but the inside isn’t done, you can tent the loaf pan with tin foil during the last minutes of baking. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
