Food Network Magazine - (11)November 2019

Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote

“Mary Had a Little Lamb,” helped

shape the Thanksgiving menu

we know today: She was an

editor at the popular magazine

Godey’s Lady’s Book in the

was obsessed

with Plymouth

Plantation.

She promoted

Thanksgiving

and her

ideal feast:

More has been

written about

this feast than

the others, and

it is where the

tradition of

Thanksgiving

as a harvest

festival started.

Waterfowl stuffed

with herbs or onions

(turkey wasn’t readily

available). Guests also likely ate

corn, pumpkin or beans grown

Plymouth colonists and

members of the

Wampanoag tribe

Thanks Again

Three states claim to be the birthplace of Thanksgiving.

Who deserves the title?

Date June 30, 1564 December 4, 1619 Fall 1621

Guest list Explorer René Goulaine de

Laudonnière, a group of French

Huguenots and the

local Timucua tribe

Thirty-five men who came from

England on the ship Margaret

(women and Native Americans

were not known to be present)

Menu Alligator, corn,

beans, squash,

pumpkins and

fowl—provided

by the Timucua

Nothing! The settlers brought

food on the ship but did not eat

it that day. According to Virginia

historians, the first Thanksgiving

was a religious fast.

Why it deserves

the title

To celebrate the

establishment of Fort

Caroline on the St. Johns

River, explorers broke bread

with the native community.

De Laudonnière wrote,

“We sang a psalm of

Thanksgiving unto God.”

During the ceremony, the men

proclaimed: “We ordain that this

day of our ship’s arrival...in the

land of Virginia shall be yearly and

perpetually kept

holy as a day of

Fun fact The feast was probably

celebrated in French because

de Laudonnière and his crew

were from France.

John J. Wicker presented the

Massachusetts governor with two

turkeys and a proclamation to “set

the record straight” about where

the first Thanksgiving took place.

Want an

authentic

Thanksgiving?

Serve alligator!

Jacksonville, FL Charles City, VA Plymouth, MA

Plymouth, MA, gets all the glory as the

location of the first Thanksgiving—but

was it? Officials in both Jacksonville, FL,

and Charles City, VA, insist the original

celebration took place in their town.

In fact, Virginia is hosting a 400th

anniversary festival this fall. Take a look

at the competing claims and you decide!

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140 FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE ●NOVEMBER 2019

on the road