Thanksgiving

History books describe the first Thanksgiving as a harvest celebration held in 1621 by the Pilgrims, whose early settlers of Plymouth Rock, who wore big black hats and buckled boots and carried flare- barreled muskets. The Pilgrims invited local Indians to their celebration, or so the story goes, and together they gave thanks and feasted on turkey and sweet potatoes. Despite the propagation of the Thanksgiving story in books and encyclopedias, some historians believe a good deal of Pilgrim lore is just plain false. It's generally agreed that sometime in early October, not late November, fifty or so Pilgrims held a three-day harvest bash. Beyond that, there is little evidence to authenticate the stories. Writers and painters have tended to moralize and romanticize the story, embellishing it with colorful anecdotes and side stepping the grimmer details.
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