Top 10 Myths About Thanksgiving
Courtesy of Rick Shenkman, one of the editors at History News Network.
- The Pilgrims Held the First Thanksgiving
To see what the first Thanksgiving was like you have to go to Texas.
- Thanksgiving Was About Family
If it had been about family, the Pilgrims never would have invited the Indians to join them.
- Thanksgiving Was About Religion
No it wasn't. Paraphrasing the answer provided above, if Thanksgiving had been about religion, the Pilgrims never would have invited the Indians to join them.
- The Pilgrims Ate Turkey
No one knows if they had turkey, although they were used to eating turkey. The only food we know they had for sure was deer.
- The Pilgrims Landed on Plymouth Rock
According to historian George Willison, who devoted his life to the subject, the story about the rock is all malarkey, a public relations stunt pulled off by townsfolk to attract attention.
- Pilgrims Lived in Log Cabins
The log cabin did not appear in America until late in the seventeenth century, when it was introduced by Germans and Swedes.
- Pilgrims Dressed in Black
Not only did they not dress in black, they did not wear those funny buckles, weird shoes, or black steeple hats.
- Pilgrims, Puritans -- Same Thing
The Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower and lived in Plymouth. The Puritans, arriving a decade later, settled in Boston.
- Puritans Hated Sex
Actually, they welcomed sex as a God-given responsibility.
- Puritans Hated Fun
Actually, the Puritans welcomed laughter and dressed in bright colors (or, to be precise, the middle and upper classes dressed in bright colors; members of the lower classes were not permitted to indulge themselves -- they dressed in dark clothes).