Every year in November, we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. We stuff our mouths with turkey, ham, and all kinds of delicious and festive foods. But, exactly is the origin of Thanksgiving? Most of us are familiar with the feast shared by the Pilgrims and Indigenous People in the autumn of 1621. However, what if we told you that there’s more history than that?
Did you know that, in the past, Thanksgiving was celebrated similarly to Halloween? It was known as “Thanksgiving Masking,” an old tradition where people would dress up in costumes, go door-to-door, and ask for goods and money, sometimes in exchange for music.
Around 100 years ago in New York City, a popular trend emerged, especially among lower-class children, known as Thanksgiving masking. This trend consists of dressing up in unsettling disguises and knocking at people’s doors to ask for sweets. It shares the same concept as Halloween, but with some key differences.
The tradition became so incredibly popular that even kids from higher social classes would secretly sneak behind their parents’ backs to participate in the fun and revel in the excitement. As the popularity of the area grew, the streets became increasingly diverse, filled with many children from a wide range of different ethnic backgrounds.
As this unusual tradition grew in popularity, masks became a staple item in every toy store, with a wide variety of designs and characters available to choose from, ranging from spooky and scary to colorful and humorous.
Masks were the ideal appeal for young boys and teenagers, as they provided the perfect excuse for all sorts of mischief and playful antics. Over the course of many years, this old tradition slowly but surely faded away, ultimately undergoing a significant transformation that has resulted in the holiday we know and celebrate today.
You also might be interested to know that Thanksgiving wasn’t always called Thanksgiving. It was originally called a Harvest Celebration; boring, right? The name Thanksgiving was created in December 1777 by George Washington as a victory celebration for defeating the British at Saratoga County, New York.
However, Thanksgiving wasn’t a holiday until Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it as a national holiday on Oct. 3, 1863.
In the very beginning of America, Pilgrims came to the new world to start a new journey. Many had come seeking religious freedom away from Britain and the Church of England. After a difficult voyage, the Pilgrims were immediately faced with a huge problem: finding food and shelter, which were scarce, and illness was spreading rapidly.
Plymouth Colony, in particular, was struggling severely and unable to produce any crops for its new town. The Pokanoket people helped the colonists by teaching them farming methods. The Pilgrims celebrated the first “American Thanksgiving” alongside the Pokanoket people to mark their flourishing success.
The Pilgrims created a peace treaty with the Pokanoket people, establishing a newly aligned alliance, in response to their act of kindness. This is where our “Thanksgiving feast” came from.
So, when you gather around the table with your friends and family, think back to how much has changed over time.
