HANGING OUT WITH FOOD AND FUN!! Nov. 1621

                                       FOOD AND FUN

Nov 1621.
                                    



This lovely painting doesn't show 90 Indians and 53 Pilgrims. But it is so sweet and it points out the outdoor setting because there wasn't a building large enough for all the participants.


             
There was a high table where the leaders of the Pilgrims and Indians sat.

The people at the Thanksgiving (they called Harvest) festival used knives and spoons to eat. They had no forks. We ate with our hands. If there were bones encountered, we spat them on the ground.  There was an abundance of food and it was hot. It was cooked over an open fire.  I stood in the background watching until I saw my new friends sit down and they motioned me over.  

We drank water, fruity juices and cider; there was a scarce amount of alcohol. I drank cider and found it very pleasing.

Yes, there was turkey but no cornbread dressing and gravy.



WE ate a little turkey, but mostly venison, grouse, duck, seafood. Lobster and swans. There was even bass. sweet potatos  but no pumpkin pie. Priscilla said they were too low on sugar and flour to make pies.  But I especially liked the roasted squash and with the sweet fruits, it was a delightful meal. Tray after tray was brought out full of hot food. We had corn porridge and dishes made of cabbage and onion.  No bread or butter. But the enthusiasm for the food could not have been greater.And just watching everyone digging in made me dig in too!!

                             THEN CAME THE FUN

There was a lot of singing. I did not recognize a single song. But obviously singing was important to the Pilgrims because they knew all the words and sang out with gusto!!

 The children occupied themselves playing games.  The  Wampanoag children taught the Pilgrim children how to play the pin game, in which the objective was to toss a ring onto a pin. They also played things like blind man's bluff and tag.  Games like hide-and-seek and leapfrog may were also part of the entertainment. It was wonderful watching the children having so much fun together.

to celebrate the harvest, both the Pilgrims and the Indians danced and sang during the celebration. Women danced the jig and sang hymns.

 Men competed in target shooting...Indians with their bows and arrows and Pilgrims with their muskets.

Men practiced marching in formation and showed the Indians the "exercising of the arms," an activity in which they marched in formation and fired their muskets. 

The Wampanoag put on their own display of dancing and chanting for the Pilgrims.

There was so much that was interesting to see that I scarcely knew which direction to look. But for sure I felt a mood of joy and thanksgiving to their merciful Lord who had brought them through. I felt the same way!!

The celebration would last several days. But when time came for everyone to turn in, there was no place for me to sleep. So I decided to slip away, knowing no one would even remember I was there.

So I pulled on the rope and came back to the present day. I was feeling so good to have celebrated the first Thanksgiving as an l8 year old. And now I wish you all in 2012 a...HAPPY THANKSGIVING.  
                                      

.
By the way, the people I saw for the most part wore colorful clothes and did not have silver buckles on their shoes....at least that is how I remember it...But I think the pictures are cute anyway.

vv


love, annie in memphis

                    

*************************************************************************