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| English: "The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" (1914) By Jennie A. Brownscombe (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The Puritans and Pilgrims, (the former wished to stay within the English fold, the latter were Separatists), arrived in North America in 1620.
The painting By Jennie A. Brownscombe, (above), done in 1914 is called The First
Thanksgiving.
It shows healthy, clean settlers a year after the landing gathered
in a lovely meadow in front of a cosy cabin.
The table is heavily laden with the fruits of their labours while a
docile group of native warriors sits like happy, grateful children in the
background.
Right.
The truth
is that the Puritans and Pilgrims blundered about for years, always on the edge of
starvation.
They managed to unfriend
many of the aboriginal people whose land they were expropriating and they argued
incessantly with each other and with their English overlords over theology and
money.
And if
you've ever thought that you might have enjoyed being a part of that fun little
group please remember that they are the same people who left us the legacy of
the Salem witch trials.
But hey,
I'm not here to spoil your Thanksgiving week-end!
If you are
Canadian, eat, drink, be merry for the harvest is gathered.
And be thankful
that beef was recalled this week, not turkey.
