What Year Was the First Thanksgiving in Massachusetts?

Along with their newly elected governor, William Bradford, the Mayflower Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in Massachusetts during the fall of 1621. The first official Thanksgiving occurred in June, rather than in November, of 1676.

Time Frame

The Mayflower, an English sailing ship, landed at Plymouth Rock, in what later became Massachusetts, on Dec. 21, 1620.

Participants

After surviving their first winter and harvest, the Mayflower Puritan settlers invited Native Americans--including Squanto, Samoset, and Massasoit--to join them in an October festival, the first Thanksgiving.

Official proclamation

On June 20, 1676, the official government in Charlestown, Mass., unanimously voted and proclaimed June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. This proclamation led to the first "official" Thanksgiving on June 29, 1676.

Excerpt

Lines from the Thanksgiving Proclamation of June 20, 1676 include: "The Council has thought meet to appoint and set apart the 29th day of this instant June, as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour."

Fun Facts

According to "The History Channel Magazine," some scholars contend that the first Thanksgiving occurred in December 1619 at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia. European colonists, including some from England, engaged in a service of "Thanksgiving" to God after surviving the trip to the New World.

References

• Law Librarian Blog
• American History: A Survey; Richard N. Current; 1983
• History Channel

Resources

• Mayflower History
• The First Thanksgiving