First Thanksgiving Facts -- 50 Questions About 1621

1621. The Pilgrims and Wampanoag shared a three-day harvest feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

About 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag men. The Wampanoag were led by Chief Massasoit.

Three days. It included eating, military demonstrations, and games.

Plymouth, Massachusetts. The event took place at the Plymouth Colony settlement.

No. The Pilgrims would have called it a harvest festival. 'Thanksgiving' meant a day of prayer and fasting to them.

Wildfowl, venison, corn, squash, and possibly fish. Edward Winslow's account mentions deer and 'wild fowl.'

Uncertain, but probably not as the main dish. Wildfowl (possibly duck or goose) and venison were the primary proteins.

No. The Pilgrims lacked butter, wheat flour, and an oven suitable for pie crust.

Probably not as a sauce. While cranberries were available, sugar was scarce and there is no record of sauce.

No. Potatoes were not yet common in English colonies; they originated in South America.

Venison (five deer) and possibly corn, squash, and fish. The Wampanoag contributed significantly to the meal.

Fowl from hunting and crops from their harvest. The 1621 corn harvest was their first successful one.

Edward Winslow and William Bradford. Winslow's letter in 'Mourt's Relation' is the only eyewitness account.

Military exercises with muskets, foot races, and other entertainments. Winslow mentions the men 'exercised our arms.'

Possibly, but not mentioned in primary sources. Winslow only mentions 'many of the Indians coming amongst us' and 'their greatest king Massasoit.'

They likely heard gunfire and investigated. The Pilgrims were hunting and firing guns in celebration.

No primary source records an invitation. The Wampanoag arrival appears to have been spontaneous.

To celebrate the harvest. The Pilgrims had successfully grown corn and wanted to give thanks.

Unknown, but late September or early October in New England. The exact date is uncertain but was likely in autumn.

Probably, but no record specifies. The Pilgrims were deeply religious and would have given thanks to God.

Pies, bread stuffing, cranberry sauce, and potatoes. These staples came much later in colonial cuisine.

Probably not. The romanticized image of a long table comes from 19th-century paintings, not historical records.

No. They wore everyday clothes in various colors. Buckled hats are a 19th-century artistic invention.

No. Plains-style war bonnets were not worn by Wampanoag people. This is romanticized imagery.

Cautiously cooperative. The Wampanoag needed allies; the Pilgrims needed survival knowledge.

The sachem (leader) of the Wampanoag Confederacy. He maintained peaceful relations with the Pilgrims for decades.

Interpreter and agricultural advisor. He taught the Pilgrims to plant corn using fish as fertilizer.

An epidemic that killed up to 90% of coastal Natives before 1620. It left cleared land the Pilgrims later settled.

It had wiped out Patuxet, leaving the area available for Pilgrim settlement. The Pilgrims settled in an abandoned Wampanoag village.

Religious in motivation but festive in practice. The Pilgrims thanked God but celebrated with games and eating.

No. The 1621 feast was a one-time event. Days of thanksgiving were declared sporadically for specific occasions.

In the 1840s, during the Victorian era. Sarah Josepha Hale and others popularized the Pilgrim story.

Days of fasting and prayer during crises. They did not celebrate annual harvest festivals like some European traditions.

Almost certainly, though unrecorded. The Pilgrims gave thanks to God before all meals.

No turkey centerpiece, no pies, no cranberry sauce, no football. It was a multi-day outdoor feast with wild game.

Corn (maize). With Wampanoag help, the Pilgrims grew enough corn to survive the winter.

Corn, beans, and squash grown together. The Wampanoag taught this sustainable companion planting technique.

Five deer. Winslow mentions the Wampanoag 'killed five deer' for the feast.

Edward Winslow's letter in 'Mourt's Relation' (1622). It is a single paragraph describing the event.

In 'Of Plymouth Plantation,' he noted they had food in abundance. He did not describe a specific feast in detail.

No. Virginia's 1619 Berkeley Hundred event was a thanksgiving service, not the feast associated with Plymouth.

A 1619 religious service in Virginia. English settlers held a thanksgiving prayer, not a harvest feast.

Plymouth's feast narrative became dominant in the 1800s. The Pilgrim story was romanticized and promoted by New Englanders.

Inaccurately. Jennie Brownscombe's 1914 painting invented the buckled hats, table setting, and romanticized Natives.

It was a diplomatic moment, not a founding myth. Many Wampanoag view it as the beginning of a complex, often tragic history.

Increasingly with Native perspectives and historical accuracy. Modern curricula acknowledge Wampanoag contributions and suffering.

An annual protest in Plymouth since 1970. It provides a counter-narrative to the romanticized Thanksgiving myth.

It honors both Pilgrim survival and Native suffering. A complete picture avoids harmful myths and acknowledges complexity.

Probably, though not mentioned in primary sources. About 20 children and teenagers were among the Mayflower passengers, and some survived the first winter.

Spoons, knives, and hands — no forks. Forks were rare in 1621 England and unknown at Plymouth Colony.