How many of you thought that Thanksgiving has been taking place each year  since that first celebration between the pilgrims and the native americans?  Doesn’t it just piss you off to find out what you thought was true for all time, really is a modern invention?  Such is the case with the celebration of Thanksgiving.  (I think at this point we have ruined everyone’s beliefs about Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  You know we are coming after the 4th of July next year.  Ha!)

Much like our modern day Christmas traditions, the way we celebrate this one was primarily based on one author’s vision for how things should be were created out of thin air and very well promoted and accepted. Here is our previous meeting about Saturnalia Christmas (https://holysmokesblog.com/2013/12/25/jesus-and-santa-claus-which-is-the-reason-for-the-season/)

Apparently, there was a nearly 300 year break between that first Thanksgiving and its national recognition.  We also watched some short videos about the Mayflower boat, life in those early days, and the real story of the pilgrim’s success – when they dumped socialism in favor of personal ownership and opportunity.  And..just for fun, we educated ourselves on the difference between pilgrims and puritans, and how the New England states were geographically formed.

Enjoy!

We watched only the first 9 minutes of this one, though the rest is interesting, too.

Here is the link to the history channel videos on Thanks giving:

Deconstructing the Mayflower:  http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving/videos/deconstructing-history-mayflower?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false

Pilgrims In America:  http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving/videos/pilgrims-in-america?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false

Bet You Didn’t Know:  http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving/videos/bet-you-didnt-know-thanksgiving?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false

Pilgrims vs Puritans:  http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving/videos/puritans-vs-pilgrims?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false