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The history of the holiday meal tells us that turkey was always the centerpiece, but other courses have since disappeared

smithsonian.com

Today, the traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes any number of dishes: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. But if one were to create a historically accurate feast, consisting of only those foods that historians are certain were served at the so-called "first Thanksgiving," there would be slimmer pickings. "Wildfowl was there. Corn, in grain form for bread or for porridge, was there. Venison was there," says Kathleen Wall. "These are absolutes."

Two primary sources-the only surviving documents that reference the meal-confirm that these staples were part of the harvest celebration shared by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag at Plymouth Colony in 1621. Edward Winslow, an English leader who attended, wrote home to a friend:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others."

William Bradford, the governor Winslow mentions, also described the autumn of 1621, adding, "And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion."

But determining what else the colonists and Wampanoag might have eaten at the 17th-century feast takes some digging. To form educated guesses, Wall, a foodways culinarian at Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, studies cookbooks and descriptions of gardens from the period, archaeological remains such as pollen samples that might clue her in to what the colonists were growing.

Our discussion begins with the bird. Turkey was not the centerpiece of the meal, as it is today, explains Wall. Though it is possible the colonists and American Indians cooked wild turkey, she suspects that goose or duck was the wildfowl of choice. In her research, she has found that swan and passenger pigeons would have been available as well. "Passenger pigeons-extinct in the wild for over a century now-were so thick in the 1620s, they said you could hear them a quarter-hour before you saw them," says Wall. "They say a man could shoot at the birds in flight and bring down 200."

Small birds were often spit-roasted, while larger birds were boiled. "I also think some birds-in a lot of recipes you see this-were boiled first, then roasted to finish them off. Or things are roasted first and then boiled," says Wall. "The early roasting gives them nicer flavor, sort of caramelizes them on the outside and makes the broth darker."

It is possible that the birds were stuffed, though probably not with bread. (Bread, made from maize not wheat, was likely a part of the meal, but exactly how it was made is unknown.) The Pilgrims instead stuffed birds with chunks of onion and herbs. "There is a wonderful stuffing for goose in the 17th-century that is just shelled chestnuts," says Wall. "I am thinking of that right now, and it is sounding very nice." Since the first Thanksgiving was a three-day celebration, she adds, "I have no doubt whatsoever that birds that are roasted one day, the remains of them are all thrown in a pot and boiled up to make broth the next day. That broth thickened with grain to make a pottage."

In addition to wildfowl and deer, the colonists and Wampanoag probably ate eels and shellfish, such as lobster, clams and mussels. "They were drying shellfish and smoking other sorts of fish," says Wall.

According to the culinarian, the Wampanoag, like most eastern woodlands people, had a "varied and extremely good diet." The forest provided chestnuts, walnuts and beechnuts. "They grew flint corn (multicolored Indian corn), and that was their staple. They grew beans, which they used from when they were small and green until when they were mature," says Wall. "They also had different sorts of pumpkins or squashes."

As we are taught in school, the Indians showed the colonists how to plant native crops. "The English colonists plant gardens in March of 1620 and 1621," says Wall. "We don't know exactly what's in those gardens. But in later sources, they talk about turnips, carrots, onions, garlic and pumpkins as the sorts of things that they were growing."

Of course, to some extent, the exercise of reimagining the spread of food at the 1621 celebration becomes a process of elimination. "You look at what an English celebration in England is at this time. What are the things on the table? You see lots of pies in the first course and in the second course, meat and fish pies. To cook a turkey in a pie was not terribly uncommon," says Wall. "But it is like, no, the pastry isn't there." The colonists did not have butter and wheat flour to make crusts for pies and tarts. (That's right: No pumpkin pie!) "That is a blank in the table, for an English eye. So what are they putting on instead? I think meat, meat and more meat," says Wall.

Meat without potatoes, that is. White potatoes, originating in South America, and sweet potatoes, from the Caribbean, had yet to infiltrate North America. Also, there would have been no cranberry sauce. It would be another 50 years before an Englishman wrote about boiling cranberries and sugar into a "Sauce to eat with. . . .Meat." Says Wall: "If there was beer, there were only a couple of gallons for 150 people for three days." She thinks that to wash it all down the English and Wampanoag drank water.

All this, naturally, begs a follow-up question. So how did the Thanksgiving menu evolve into what it is today?

Wall explains that the Thanksgiving holiday, as we know it, took root in the mid-19th century. At this time, Edward Winslow's letter, printed in a pamphlet called Mourt's Relation, and Governor Bradford's manuscript, titled Of Plimoth Plantation, were rediscovered and published. Boston clergyman Alexander Young printed Winslow's letter in his Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers, and in the footnotes to the resurrected letter, he somewhat arbitrarily declared the feast the first Thanksgiving. (Wall and others at Plimoth Plantation prefer to call it "the harvest celebration in 1621.") There was nostalgia for colonial times, and by the 1850s, most states and territories were celebrating Thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of the popular women's magazine Godey's Lady's Book, , a real trendsetter for running a household, was a leading voice in establishing Thanksgiving as an annual event. Beginning in 1827, Hale petitioned 13 presidents, the last of whom was Abraham Lincoln. She pitched her idea to President Lincoln as a way to unite the country in the midst of the Civil War, and, in 1863, he made Thanksgiving a national holiday.

Throughout her campaign, Hale printed Thanksgiving recipes and menus in Godey's Lady's Book. She also published close to a dozen cookbooks. "She is really planting this idea in the heads of lots of women that this is something they should want to do," says Wall. "So when there finally is a national day of Thanksgiving, there is a whole body of women who are ready for it, who know what to do because she told them. A lot of the food that we think of-roast turkey with sage dressing, creamed onions, mashed turnips, even some of the mashed potato dishes, which were kind of exotic then-are there."

About Megan Gambino

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What Was on the Menu at the First Thanksgiving?

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smithsonian.com Today, the traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes any number of dishes: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. But if one were to create a historically accurate feast, consisting of only those foods that historians are certain were served at the so-called "first Thanksgiving," there would be slimmer pickings.

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Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, and Thanksgiving 2020 occurs on Thursday, November 26. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

Thanksgiving at Plymouth

In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers-an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.
READ MORE: Why Did the Pilgrims Come to America?

Did you know? Lobster, seal and swans were on the Pilgrims' menu.
READ MORE: What's the Difference Between Puritans and Pilgrims?
Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower's original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Native American who greeted them in English.

Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which would endure for more than 50 years and tragically remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims' first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony's Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American's "first Thanksgiving"-although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time-the festival lasted for three days. While no record exists of the first Thanksgiving's exact menu, much of what we know about what happened at the first Thanksgiving comes from Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow, who wrote:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the Company almost a week, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deer, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower's sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations
READ MORE: Who Was at the First Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving Becomes a National Holiday

Pilgrims held their second Thanksgiving celebration in 1623 to mark the end of a long drought that had threatened the year's harvest and prompted Governor Bradford to call for a religious fast. Days of fasting and thanksgiving on an annual or occasional basis became common practice in other New England settlements as well.

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving a year, and in 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States; in it, he called upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country's war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. His successors John Adams and James Madison also designated days of thanks during their presidencies.

In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday; each celebrated it on a different day, however, and the American South remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition.

In 1827, the noted magazine editor and prolific writer Sarah Josepha Hale -author, among countless other things, of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb"-launched a campaign to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. For 36 years, she published numerous editorials and sent scores of letters to governors, senators, presidents and other politicians, earning her the nickname the "Mother of Thanksgiving."

READ MORE: How the 'Mother of Thanksgiving' Lobbied Abraham Lincoln to Proclaim the National Holiday

Abraham Lincoln finally heeded her request in 1863, at the height of the Civil War, in a proclamation entreating all Americans to ask God to "commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife" and to "heal the wounds of the nation." He scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November, and it was celebrated on that day every year until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. Roosevelt's plan, known derisively as Franksgiving, was met with passionate opposition, and in 1941 the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.

Thanksgiving Traditions and Rituals

In many American households, the Thanksgiving celebration has lost much of its original religious significance; instead, it now centers on cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends. Turkey, a Thanksgiving staple so ubiquitous it has become all but synonymous with the holiday, may or may not have been on offer when the Pilgrims hosted the inaugural feast in 1621.

Today, however, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat the bird-whether roasted, baked or deep-fried-on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day activity, and communities often hold food drives and host free dinners for the less fortunate.

Parades have also become an integral part of the holiday in cities and towns across the United States. Presented by Macy's department store since 1924, New York City's Thanksgiving Day parade is the largest and most famous, attracting some 2 to 3 million spectators along its 2.5-mile route and drawing an enormous television audience. It typically features marching bands, performers, elaborate floats conveying various celebrities and giant balloons shaped like cartoon characters.

Beginning in the mid-20th century and perhaps even earlier, the president of the United States has "pardoned" one or two Thanksgiving turkeys each year, sparing the birds from slaughter and sending them to a farm for retirement. A number of U.S. governors also perform the annual turkey pardoning ritual.

Thanksgiving Controversies

For some scholars, the jury is still out on whether the feast at Plymouth really constituted the first Thanksgiving in the United States. Indeed, historians have recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America that predate the Pilgrims' celebration. In 1565, for instance, the Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilé invited members of the local Timucua tribe to a dinner in St. Augustine, Florida, after holding a mass to thank God for his crew's safe arrival. On December 4, 1619, when 38 British settlers reached a site known as Berkeley Hundred on the banks of Virginia's James River, they read a proclamation designating the date as "a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."

Some Native Americans and many others take issue with how the Thanksgiving story is presented to the American public, and especially to schoolchildren. In their view, the traditional narrative paints a deceptively sunny portrait of relations between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people, masking the long and bloody history of conflict between Native Americans and European settlers that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands. Since 1970, protesters have gathered on the day designated as Thanksgiving at the top of Cole's Hill, which overlooks Plymouth Rock, to commemorate a "National Day of Mourning." Similar events are held in other parts of the country.

Thanksgiving's Ancient Origins

Although the American concept of Thanksgiving developed in the colonies of New England, its roots can be traced back to the other side of the Atlantic. Both the Separatists who came over on the Mayflower and the Puritans who arrived soon after brought with them a tradition of providential holidays-days of fasting during difficult or pivotal moments and days of feasting and celebration to thank God in times of plenty.

As an annual celebration of the harvest and its bounty, moreover, Thanksgiving falls under a category of festivals that spans cultures, continents and millennia. In ancient times, the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans feasted and paid tribute to their gods after the fall harvest. Thanksgiving also bears a resemblance to the ancient Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot. Finally, historians have noted that Native Americans had a rich tradition of commemorating the fall harvest with feasting and merrymaking long before Europeans set foot on their shores.
Get the history behind the holiday. Access thousands of hours of commercial-free series and specials with HISTORY Vault

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Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, and Thanksgiving 2020 occurs on Thursday, November 26. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

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Early Thanksgiving Special. Hope you enjoy. Comment, like, and Subscribe for more Thanks. HippieLyfe3K Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

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A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving - Full Video

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A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. In this animated film, Charlie Brown and his friends learn about the first Thanksgiving in 1621. The film is based on the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It initially aired with CBS on November 20, 1973. This vi

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10 Thanksgiving Movies for Kids and Families

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2017 Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes - Thanksgiving Menu Ideas

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From traditional menus to our most creative ways to cook a turkey, Delish has ideas for tasty ways to make your Thanksgiving dinner a success.

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http://www.kidactivities.net/category/holidays-thanksgiving-games.aspx

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Whether you are looking for some Thanksgiving games for kids in the classroom or at your family get together, we have you covered. Kids love playing these games. In fact, you may find that they don't want to quit. This is a good problem to have.

Thanksgiving games can be a great way to mix a lesson plan with entertainment. Not only will the be having fun, but they will learn about this traditional holiday.

You will find these games to be appropriate for preschoolers and elementary students. You may find some of the word hunts or the "thankerchief" game appropriate for middle schoolers as well.

We hope you enjoy the following games and activities.

15 Thanksgiving Games for Kids

1. Turkey Calling Contest

Host a turkey calling contest, complete with lots of squawking, flapping, wattle shaking, and pecking.

Give participants a prize with fun distinctions:

"Loudest turkey", "Most authentic", "Most likely to be spared", "Cutest turkey", etc. This activity can also be turned into a relay race with the group split into two teams. Loud, but fun! (Ages 4-Adult)

2. Thanksgiving Word Find

Take a Thanksgiving-related word such as Thanksgiving, Mayflower, Cornucopia, etc. and find as many little words as possible within before the timer runs out.
Example: Cornucopia Words: corn, pin, no, arc, car, nip, cop, cup, on, or, rap...
Example: Mayflower Words: May, flower, flow, flare, lay, low, fear, ear, owe, fly, rye, wear, row...

3. Turkey Leftovers
Game Instructions:

1. All children stand in pairs holding hands and facing each other.

2. A third child-called the 'turkey' stands between each pair. The turkey is in the 'barnyard (between the two facing children).

3. One child is NOT with a pair and in the 'barnyard'. This 'free' turkey is roaming.

4. At a signal,(such as Gobble, Gobble, Gobble) all turkeys leave their barnyard and run for safety to another barnyard. One turkey will be leftover and not be able to find a barnyard to enter.

5. Depending on the number of players-continue until all (or many) have had time to be a left-over turkey!

4. Where is Mr. Turkey?
Game Instructions:

1. Instead of saying "warmer or cooler" you gobble!

2. One player is the hunter and the others are helpers.

3. The hunter leaves the room.

4. The helpers hide a small toy turkey or a turkey cut-out, or laminated drawing, etc.

5. The hunter returns with a mission to find the turkey. Helpers give clues by "gobbling" like turkeys.

6. If the hunter is not close, the helpers gobble very quietly. As the hunter gets closer, the helpers gobble more and more loudly until Mr. Turkey is found!

With a larger program, this could be a 'choice' game or play with different groups at different times. (While the program is going on with choices of activities, kids could sign-up on pre-made sheets for their game time and group!)

Also good at the last half hour of a Center program when the numbers of children are lower and everything is cleaned up

5. Turkey Walk (good for Pre-K to 2nd Grade)

Play the toddler music of your choice and encourage the children to move like...

Make it more interesting by choosing music based on the movement you'd like to elicit.

6. Turkey Hunt

Hunt quietly; you don't want to scare the turkeys...

On a dozen or more index cards, draw or paste a picture of a turkey. The amount of cards you will have depends on the number of children you have-and how many groups they will be divided into. Each group should consist of about 12 hunters (children) and 12 cards.

1. To play, everyone leaves the room except the leader.

2. The leader hides the cards around the room.

3. Hunters return and begin the hunt.

4. As each turkey is found, it is brought back to the leader who corrals them in a separate pile for each hunter.

5. When all the turkeys have been found, the hunter with the most turkeys is the winner and becomes the leader for the next round.

This can be done in groups and groups work together!

Each group would have a leader.

Hide the turkey cards and then all hunters find cards that have been hidden.

The top finder in each Team-becomes the new leader for that Team.

Tip:
Let children make the cards before the Holiday. They'll find lots of magazine pictures and can color some as well!

7. Cornucopia Game
Game Instructions:

1. Players sit on chairs forming a circle. There should be one more player than there are chairs. The player without a chair is the leader.

2. The leader points to each of the other players to give them a name, such as "Cranberry, Corn, Apple, Turkey," anything related to Thanksgiving.

3. After names are chosen, the leader calls out two names,
"Turkey and potato."

4. Those two players must quickly switch places. The leader keeps calling at a quick pace until suddenly she says "The cornucopia has tipped over!"

5. Everyone, including the leader, then scrambles for a new place.

6. The player without a seat is the new leader.

More Info: The leader may give the same name to more than one person.

This game can be confusing at first, but it is fun!

8. Turkey Trot Game
Required:
You can make a mascot by taping a colored-paper turkey head to one end of a football. You can also simply stuff a brown bag with crumpled newspaper and draw on a face with colored markers.
Directions:

1. In this wacky outdoor contest, team players join up with their elbows linked, and each team is handed a turkey mascot.

2. On cue, the pairs try to make their way to the finish line at the far end of the playing field.

9. Pass the Corn Game (Thanksgiving Game for Ages 4 - 10)
Required: Directions:

1. Divide the children into two teams (or as many as you need) and have them form two lines.

2. At the signal "go", the corncob is to be passed from child to child. The catch is that they can use any part of their bodies, except their hands.

3. If the corn touches the ground at any time, it must go back to the beginning of the line again.

4. Whichever team manages to get the corn to the end of the line first wins the game.

5. The corn can also be used in a relay, with the kids putting the corn between their knees, and racing "crab" style".

10. Turkey Strut (Preschool Thanksgiving Game)
Directions:

1. Use pieces of masking tape to make turkey footprints all over the floor.

2. Start playing music.

3. Have children pretend to be turkeys and strut around the room.

4. When you stop the music, have the turkeys find footprints to stand on (one turkey to a footprint).

5. When you start the music again, have the turkeys continue strutting around the room.

11. Thanksgiving Dinner Game

This game makes for a fun transition activity.
Directions:

1. Players sit in a circle (or stand in a line because of waiting...)

2. The first player starts by saying, "At Thanksgiving dinner, I like to eat turkey".

3. The next player must repeat "At Thanksgiving dinner, I like to eat turkey..." and add another dish.

4. This continues all the way around the circle or down the line- with each student reciting the dishes in the exact order they have been given and then adding a new one.

5. If a student makes a mistake they slide out of the circle or move to the front of the line and the game continues.

6. The person left who can perfectly recite the Thanksgiving menu wins.

Instead of saying... At Thanksgiving dinner, I like...you could say:

First player: I'm going to Thanksgiving dinner and I'm having turkey.

Second player: I'm going to Thanksgiving dinner and having turkey and sweet potatoes. etc.

12. Twenty Questions Thanksgiving Style
Directions:

1. Choose someone or something related to Thanksgiving.

2. One player says "I am thinking of a person, place or thing"

3. The other players try to guess what it is by asking no more than twenty questions which can be answered "yes," "no," or "I don't know."

Suggestion: Make a flip chart with numbers from 1 to 20-so each time a question is asked -the number is flipped. This can also be played with other holidays/themes/seasons!

You could also keep score by making 20 paper turkey feathers. Each time a question is asked, a feather is removed from the pile.
Turn every day games into Thanksgiving Games!

INSTEAD of Duck, Duck, Goose...play DUCK, DUCK, TURKEY!

Play "PIN the WATTLE on the Turkey" instead of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

Instead of Simon says-play the TURKEY SAYS...

Use Candy Corn to play Bingo

13. Thankerchief
Directions:

1. Arrange the children/players in a circle.

2. Pass a "thankerchief" (handkerchief) around.

3. As it passes everyone recites this poem:
Thankerchief, thankerchief, around you go -
Where you'll stop, nobody knows.
But when you do, someone must say,
What they are thankful for this day.

4. The player holding the "thankerchief" when the poem ends, must say aloud, one thing for which they are thankful.

5. This continues until everyone has had a turn.

14. Thanksgiving Joke and Punch Line

This thanksgiving activity is great for connecting and as an ice-breaker!
Directions:

1. Write a Thanksgiving joke on one card and a punch line on another. Be sure to mix the cards up. The number of different jokes depends on the size of the group.

2. Give each person a card. Explain that they may have a joke or a punch line on the card.

3. On a given signal, they are to walk around the group trying to find the other part of their joke/punch line.

4. When they find their other half, you may ask them to get to know their new partner by asking things like what's your favorite holiday or Thanksgiving Dessert, etc...

5. When this is done, everyone can return to a circle and, with their partner, tell their joke.

If you haven't checked out the FALL/AUTUMN GAMES-do so now. There are more than 40 games using pumpkins, gourds and leaves that would be great for Thanksgiving! An example is:

15. Pie Eater Tag Game!
This tag game is good for October to December because of apple and pumpkin pies! Direction:

1. Split the students into two different groups; one is apple pie and the other group is pumpkin pie.

2. Have one student be the pie eater, who will be standing on the centerline. The pie eater can only move from side to side on the centerline.

3. All the students say to the pie eater, "Pie eater, pie eater are you hungry?" The pie eater responds with a 'yes or no' answer.

4. If the answer is no, the pies (students) ask again.

5. If the answer is yes, then the pies ask again, "What kind of pie would you like?"

6. The pie eater then says apple or pumpkin and that pie tries to make it to the other side.

7. If the pie is tagged, then they become a pie eater.

There you have it, 15 fun Thanksgiving games for kids. Did the kids find the games entertaining? Which one was their favorite? Another fun Thanksgiving game is Thanksgiving charades.

You may also be interested in...

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15 Fun Thanksgiving Games for Kids to Play at School - Kid Activities

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A collection of fun Thanksgiving games for kids to play at school and in the classroom. These game ideas are a great way to incorporate learning and fun!

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http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, and Thanksgiving 2020 occurs on Thursday, November 26. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

Thanksgiving at Plymouth

In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers-an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.
READ MORE: Why Did the Pilgrims Come to America?

Did you know? Lobster, seal and swans were on the Pilgrims' menu.
READ MORE: What's the Difference Between Puritans and Pilgrims?
Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower's original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Native American who greeted them in English.

Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which would endure for more than 50 years and tragically remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims' first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony's Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American's "first Thanksgiving"-although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time-the festival lasted for three days. While no record exists of the first Thanksgiving's exact menu, much of what we know about what happened at the first Thanksgiving comes from Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow, who wrote:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the Company almost a week, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deer, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower's sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations
READ MORE: Who Was at the First Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving Becomes a National Holiday

Pilgrims held their second Thanksgiving celebration in 1623 to mark the end of a long drought that had threatened the year's harvest and prompted Governor Bradford to call for a religious fast. Days of fasting and thanksgiving on an annual or occasional basis became common practice in other New England settlements as well.

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving a year, and in 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States; in it, he called upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country's war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. His successors John Adams and James Madison also designated days of thanks during their presidencies.

In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday; each celebrated it on a different day, however, and the American South remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition.

In 1827, the noted magazine editor and prolific writer Sarah Josepha Hale -author, among countless other things, of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb"-launched a campaign to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. For 36 years, she published numerous editorials and sent scores of letters to governors, senators, presidents and other politicians, earning her the nickname the "Mother of Thanksgiving."

READ MORE: How the 'Mother of Thanksgiving' Lobbied Abraham Lincoln to Proclaim the National Holiday

Abraham Lincoln finally heeded her request in 1863, at the height of the Civil War, in a proclamation entreating all Americans to ask God to "commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife" and to "heal the wounds of the nation." He scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November, and it was celebrated on that day every year until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. Roosevelt's plan, known derisively as Franksgiving, was met with passionate opposition, and in 1941 the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.

Thanksgiving Traditions and Rituals

In many American households, the Thanksgiving celebration has lost much of its original religious significance; instead, it now centers on cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends. Turkey, a Thanksgiving staple so ubiquitous it has become all but synonymous with the holiday, may or may not have been on offer when the Pilgrims hosted the inaugural feast in 1621.

Today, however, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat the bird-whether roasted, baked or deep-fried-on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day activity, and communities often hold food drives and host free dinners for the less fortunate.

Parades have also become an integral part of the holiday in cities and towns across the United States. Presented by Macy's department store since 1924, New York City's Thanksgiving Day parade is the largest and most famous, attracting some 2 to 3 million spectators along its 2.5-mile route and drawing an enormous television audience. It typically features marching bands, performers, elaborate floats conveying various celebrities and giant balloons shaped like cartoon characters.

Beginning in the mid-20th century and perhaps even earlier, the president of the United States has "pardoned" one or two Thanksgiving turkeys each year, sparing the birds from slaughter and sending them to a farm for retirement. A number of U.S. governors also perform the annual turkey pardoning ritual.

Thanksgiving Controversies

For some scholars, the jury is still out on whether the feast at Plymouth really constituted the first Thanksgiving in the United States. Indeed, historians have recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America that predate the Pilgrims' celebration. In 1565, for instance, the Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilé invited members of the local Timucua tribe to a dinner in St. Augustine, Florida, after holding a mass to thank God for his crew's safe arrival. On December 4, 1619, when 38 British settlers reached a site known as Berkeley Hundred on the banks of Virginia's James River, they read a proclamation designating the date as "a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."

Some Native Americans and many others take issue with how the Thanksgiving story is presented to the American public, and especially to schoolchildren. In their view, the traditional narrative paints a deceptively sunny portrait of relations between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people, masking the long and bloody history of conflict between Native Americans and European settlers that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands. Since 1970, protesters have gathered on the day designated as Thanksgiving at the top of Cole's Hill, which overlooks Plymouth Rock, to commemorate a "National Day of Mourning." Similar events are held in other parts of the country.

Thanksgiving's Ancient Origins

Although the American concept of Thanksgiving developed in the colonies of New England, its roots can be traced back to the other side of the Atlantic. Both the Separatists who came over on the Mayflower and the Puritans who arrived soon after brought with them a tradition of providential holidays-days of fasting during difficult or pivotal moments and days of feasting and celebration to thank God in times of plenty.

As an annual celebration of the harvest and its bounty, moreover, Thanksgiving falls under a category of festivals that spans cultures, continents and millennia. In ancient times, the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans feasted and paid tribute to their gods after the fall harvest. Thanksgiving also bears a resemblance to the ancient Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot. Finally, historians have noted that Native Americans had a rich tradition of commemorating the fall harvest with feasting and merrymaking long before Europeans set foot on their shores.
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Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, and Thanksgiving 2020 occurs on Thursday, November 26. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.