Although the popular American myth is that the first Thanksgiving consisted of Pilgrims sitting around a dinner table eating turkey with the local Indians, the events of the first Thanksgivings were not quite so copacetic. The events of the Pilgrims have been turned into mythical status with children coloring turkeys and making Pilgrim costumes thinking that they are commemorating the First Thanksgiving.Some schools even have programs re-enacting the events of 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The realities surrounding Thanksgiving celebrations are quite different. Historians researching Plymouth have not found any evidence of turkey. The reality is that they ate bread, fish, deer, squirrel and eel. To accompany the feast, they consumed it with large amounts of beer. The idea of elementary school children celebrating an American version of an Octoberfest beer swilling while eating squirrel and eel is not the image that is often conveyed.

The Pilgrims indeed had many events to be thankful for. They had endured many hardships in their journey. They were finally free from the reach of a hostile oppressive government. The first feast of 1621 was meager compared to the one they celebrated in 1624. The first feast was intended as a harvest festival. Although the 1621 date is often cited, the massive quantities of food consumption did not occur until the 1624 feast, which was one of massive religious gratitude after the end of a long drought they survived. There were many instances of miraculous events in terms of where they landed, gaining access to corn and other events that made the 1624 feast a truly special occasion for which they were grateful.The Pilgrims had learned that peace with the Indians was better than contentious relations. They learned the hard way that socialism does not work, and they learned the importance of prayer and hard work.

So if the Pilgrims’ celebration was not the first religious expression of Thanksgiving, where was it and who did it? The answer to that question surprises many. It is true that Native Americans were indeed an integral part of the first Thanksgiving, but the ones involved were not Massasoit and Samoset. Instead they were nameless members of the Teya tribe. Although claims have been made by the Commonwealth of Virginia (1610 or 1619, depending on the source), and the State of Maine (1607) , the contenders are in the South as Florida and Texas.

On the 11^th of May, 1541 the members of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado y Luján’s ‘entrada’ sat down to enjoy a feast of wild game they had prepared for the occasion. The men had experienced some difficult challenges on their ‘entrada’ and wished to express thanks to God for bringing them through those challenges. The large Entrada or ‘expedition’ had already been travelling for months. The men were in a strange new land filled with animals, plants and sights that amazed them. Since it was Ascension Day, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado y Lujan (aka Coronado) decided that it would be a good day for a feast of thanksgiving. It was one of the first times that they could enjoy the fruits of the strange new land they had been travelling through.

The quantities of game were massive, since they had to feed over 331 Europeans and 1300 Indians. The party was truly international with Spaniard, Portuguese, French, Italian, blacks, Indians and a Scotsman in attendance.  They were using the day set aside for commemoration of Ascension as a time to express thanks for food and preserving them through some rough weather.

The party was now encamped in Texas near the Palo Duro canyon located outside of present day Amarillo. The first few months had been spent traversing mountains and deserts as they crossed the Southwest. Now they found themselves crossing a great plain, which was a welcome relief after the rough territory they had recently come through.

This celebration was the first act of feast where thanks were expressed to God for his providence. The meal had representation from many nations and backgrounds, making it a ceremony which many people from various backgrounds contributed to. Such was the first Thanksgiving celebrated in Texas and America. Some historians refuse to recognize the event as the first Thanksgiving, since it was not celebrated in a permanent European settlement.

For the first Thanksgiving celebrated at a permanent European settlement, the story moves to Florida. The next group that had a celebratory feast of Thanksgiving to God for his providence was over 20 years later. In 1564, a group of French Huguenots led by Laudonniere landed in Florida. The expedition had been organized by the Huguenot leader Admiral Gaspard de Coligny in response to increasing persecutions in Europe. They had come to North America in order to escape persecution and religious intolerance running rampant in Europe. The party prepared a feast, and invited the local Indians to partake of it with them. The settlers soon constructed what would later be known as Fort Caroline.

A year later, on September 15, 1565, another group conducted a feast of Thanksgiving at nearby San Augustine, Florida. This group consisted of 600 Spanish colonists under the leadership of Pedro Menendez de Avilas. The party expressed thanks to God for bringing them there safely. The group also invited the local Ticuma Indians to participate. After their feast and thanksgiving, Avilas had to get to work. Avilas was a harsh man who was used to hunting down pirates without mercy.

Avilas had been given orders to “hang and burn the Lutherans” he may find in Florida. (At that time, the term “Lutheran” was a derogatory reference used for any Protestant group). His force found the French Huguenots and massacred them along with 300 survivors of a French shipwreck a few miles to the south of San Augustine. In Avilas mind, they were trespassing and were of the same class of person as pirates and criminals. Those that surrendered were hung on nearby trees. A sign was posted on the site proclaiming “Not as Frenchmen, but as Lutherans”. Since Spain and France had previous alliances, Avilas needed to make sure that the action was out of religious persecution rather than as a provocation of the French.

The attacks on the Huguenots were not limited to the colonists. An assassination attempt was made on Admiral Gaspard de Coligny in Paris associated with the St. Batholemew's Day Massacre in 1572.

French sailors who came across the site to rescue the colonists were enraged. Three years later, the Frenchman Dominique de Gourgues took action to remedy the situation. He sailed to Cuba with 200 men. Once in Cuba, he told the men the true nature of their mission. The approved of his action and remained with him. The force landed in Florida near St. Augustine. The force captured what had been Fort Caroline, massacring the Spanish garrison. After completing his bloody task, he affixed a sign proclaiming “Not as Spaniards, but as murderers”.

The next celebrated Thanksgiving was conducted in El Paso, Texas on April 30, 1598. On that date, Juan de Onate and his party held a celebratory feast of Thanksgiving after some severe hardships. In that episode, his party of 500+ had recently arrived in the city. The expedition had run out of food and water five days prior. Despite the lack of supplies, they continued onward. On reaching the Rio Grande River, they were overjoyed and rushed toward the water in the river. Some of the horses in the expedition died from drinking too much water. After 10 days of rest and recovery, a feast was held to express gratitude to God for their survival. The party celebrated their feast with the local Tigua Indians.

Although the factual accounts of the first Thanksgivings are not the romantic notion of Pilgrims and Indians at peace eating turkey, they contain lessons for each of us. In the first thanksgiving, there is an illustration of how people from many nations and backgrounds can come together in a feast of thanksgiving to God. They can enjoy the bountiful harvest of game and religious worship free of government interference.