The USA's holiday called Thanksgiving is the one based most, perhaps, on misconceptions and outright falsehoods. Supposedly modeled on a day-long feast celebrating the first harvest of the nearly starving Pilgrims of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the national holiday has been causing educators to dress up children in "pilgrim-style" clothing and feathered headdresses since it was declared a national holiday in 1863. Families celebrate the holiday with lavish suppers of turkey, vegetables, and desserts, such as pumpkin pie, and it is often perceived to offer an opportunity of reflection on the blessings of a god (usually Christian).

Many United States' citizens, and those of other countries, believe the popular stereotype of the hardy, freedom-loving Pilgrims civilizing a wild land, largely empty except for nomadic bands ("tribes") of Native American inhabitants. They also believe that these inhabitants soon moved away or came to peaceful terms with the colonists, replaced by hard-working and god-fearing New England Puritans. One colonist, Edward Winslow, wrote a letter in December 1621 that contained a paragraph that briefly described the first year's harvest. In the letter, Winslow said that after the harvest, the Governor decided a feast was in order. As some of the men hunted for fowl, a delegation of ninety Native Americans (led by the Wampanoag Nation's head chief, Massasoit) arrived and they added their hunting bounty of five deer to the "party" that, by the time it wound down, lasted about a week.

The Wampanoag, meaning "People of the Light," inhabited southeastern Massachusetts (including all of Cape Cod and the offshore islands) and eastern Rhode Island. They were fishers, planters, and hunters, and adept at wisely using the resources of the ocean as well as the land and fresh waters. Councils of Elders, clan leaders, and sachems (chiefs) led the People of the Wampanoag Nation. Their language is called Wopanaak and it combines sounds and relationships to form long words — a word could convey an entire idea, rather than denote a single object. In the 17th century, a written form of the language was recorded and the first bible printed in the New World, a King James version, was in Wopanaak — translated in 1663 by two English-speaking Wampanoags.

Some of these native people had been kidnapped by earlier European explorers and many of these learned English, some of whom returned to their birthplace after some years. While the Europeans brought some trade to the Native Americans, they also brought diseases that devastated Native populations. Between 1616 and 1618, as a result of a plague, many Northeast tribes' villages had been abandoned because of the high mortality rate. So, it was surely with mixed emotions that the Wampanoag viewed the arrival in 1620 of the little ship Mayflower and its 101 passengers (of whom only 52 would live to see that first harvest feast). Some of the men were sent out to "scout" the area (they had actually wanted to land near the Hudson River) and one of their first acts was to steal stored grain and other supplies (such as bowls, baskets, ornaments from gravesites, and pots) of the nearest Wampanoag families. Using the theory of "divine providence," the new colonists believed that they had a "right" to help themselves to these items since "God had provided" that they be "discovered" and the current residents were viewed as "pagans" who did not deserve to have more worldly goods than the Christian newcomers.

Using the same theory, the Pilgrims began to settle on the land by building houses at "Plymouth." On March 16, 1621, Samoset — a leader from the Abenaki Nation to the north of the Wampanoag Nation — visited the Pilgrims. He already spoke English and was ascertaining if these newcomers posed a threat to his people. With him was Tisquantum (shortened by the colonists to Squanto), one of the Wampanoag men kidnapped earlier by other English explorers. When he returned to his nearby home, he found his village's people almost wiped out by disease, so he and another pniese (warrior-councilor), named Hobbamock, agreed to stay with the Pilgrims and give them advice towards ensuring their survival (and also to keep an eye on their actions).

In the meantime, Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag and the English Governor, John Carver, made a formal alliance to defend each other in time of war against possible enemies (such as the nearby Narragansett tribe). Carver died shortly after the "treaty" was enacted in March 1621, and William Bradford took over as Governor. The celebration of the first harvest seems to be the next formal visit of Massasoit to the colony.

Contrary to popular belief, neither pumpkin pie nor cranberry sauce was served; the Pilgrims were not dressed in severely-styled black garments, and the Native Americans did not wear elaborate feathered headdresses. The English did not call themselves "Pilgrims" either! The colonists wore clothing of red, blue, yellow, or purple shades and the Native Americans’ garments were of softened deerskin, elk or moose hide, and fur, beautifully decorated with beads, shells, and quills. Their black hair was likely to be braided and then tied with leather thongs, or their heads might be close-shaven, and their sparsely feathered headpieces lay flat on their heads — not the western Native American style of headdress that artists through the years so predominantly like to portray on all Native Americans. Usually, only the people in leadership positions wore any sort of feathered headpiece.

When the English started to celebrate, they fired their muskets and shouted loudly. Unaccustomed to such frivolous noise from the colony, Massasoit and a large number of his men went to see what was happening. Once they realized that it was a harvest, not a war "party," it seems as though the chief sent for the rest of his village to join into the festivities. He, his council, and the colony's male leaders probably sat at the fairly sturdy "high" table-being served first and with the best of the foods: fowl and deer, fruits and vegetables, and bread. Everyone else sat at roughly-made tables or on the ground. While both genders helped prepare the food, the Native American men did far more of that type of work than the English males.

Sports were played, tests of weaponry and skill occurred, and singing, story-telling, and perhaps even dancing took place. The Wampanoag liked to "gamble" and the children of both races knew "Blind man's bluff," "tag," and a variation of horseshoes, "ring-and-pin." The Wampanoag stayed for three days and, as word spread, other friendly tribes' members "stopped by." The area's Native Americans had their own "Thanksgiving" celebrations, including the "Strawberry Thanksgiving" and the "Green Corn Thanksgiving," so they well-understood the idea of celebrating a bountiful harvest. (But, one wonders what they thought of eating corn raised from the seeds stolen from them the year before!)

However, the English never actually used the word "Thanksgiving" with this festival! "Thanksgiving" was associated with religious worship on special days set aside for reflection and prayer, and these days were taken up with formal morning and afternoon services. Fasting, rather than feasting, was the practice during these days. The first documented religious thanksgiving day in Plymouth occurred in 1623 when the colonists were praying to thank their god for ending a two-month dry spell. In later years, the colonists had thanksgiving parties to celebrate military victories over their former allies, including a battle in which Massasoit's son Metacom (currently the chief) was killed and his nine-year-old grandson was enslaved (King Phillip's War/Metacom's War). The first "informal" nationwide Thanksgiving Day celebrated the Revolutionary War victory over the British at the Battle of Saratoga.

So, it wasn't until two hundred years later that this first harvest celebration was incorrectly named the "First Thanksgiving." In 1841, historians reissued the passage in Winslow's letter and labeled the event the "First Thanksgiving." In 1848, Sara Josepha Hale, editor of the magazine Godey's Lady Book, campaigned for a national holiday. In 1863, President Lincoln appointed two national Thanksgiving Days: the August one in remembrance of the Battle of Gettysburg and the last Thursday in November for "general blessings." The last Thursday in November date was later formalized and then changed to the fourth Thursday in November in 1942. Many Native Americans gather on this day at the statue of Massasoit in Plymouth, Massachusetts, for a National Day of Mourning. However, in recent years, the Native Americans have established a Wampanoag "Living Museum" at the Plymouth site and reenact the harvest celebration with historical accuracy to help "re-educate" people about their ancestors' lifestyle, the event, and the Native populace's role in helping the colonists survive.

Nowadays, Thanksgiving has evolved into a celebration of and gratitude for family, friends, and good fortune. Families gather together on Thanksgiving Day to feast on turkey and — yes — pumpkin pie, with many delicious side dishes. Each family has its own special reasons for being thankful and the day includes reminiscing about good family times and, for many, watching the famous Thanksgiving Parade in New York City and football games, all of which are broadcast throughout the nation. Children, especially, love the parade's huge balloon floats with beloved characters such as Snoopy the Dog and Superman. In good weather, families may play sporting games on their lawns, or go for walks visiting with neighbors and friends and wishing them the very best for the future. The holiday seems to have expanded to include well-wishes for all whom we know and those we love, which should always be a welcome sentiment.