Cornucopia is defined as "a curved goat's horn overflowing with fruit and ears of grain that is used as a decorative motif emblematic of abundance." It graces our tables, but probably wasn't there in Plymouth.

When we learn about the first feast of Thanksgiving that took place in Plymouth with the Pilgrims and the Indians, it may be difficult to see how this event correlates with our present-day celebrations.

While our holiday wasn't official recognized and declared a holiday until Congress made it so in 1941, people have held some kind of feast of celebration throughout history, in all countries, probably since agriculture developed. This tradition of celebration made it natural for the Pilgrims and Indians to join together and produce a day of thanks for the bounteous harvest they received.

Jenny Pulsipher, a history professor, said that, at that time, for the Indians in the area, a celebration for a good harvest evoked a time for joy, dancing, and feasting. The Pilgrims likewise had a tradition for declaring a day of thanksgiving whenever something happened they were particularly grateful for. The feast recorded that took place in Plymouth Colony, in present-day Massachusetts, in 1621 has been particularly mentioned in history because of the union between the two people.

"To do it together," Pulsipher said, "that's what makes that the first, peaceful celebration between two people, who, at that point had agreed to become friends."

This specific harvest must have been the quintessential blessing that year because there were written accounts made of it.

"We have a picture of a large group of people joyfully gathered around a kind of old-fashioned picnic table," said Carl Sederholm, a professor of Humanities.

"But the reality seems to be a lot more simple; the harvest, though small, was worth recognizing as a blessing,"

he said. "Some of the Pilgrims were so pleased with the harvest that they wrote to their family and friends in England about it."

Historians aren't completely sure what foods lined the table at this first feast, although there are accounts of the Pilgrims bird hunting before, so the traditional turkey could have been present, especially because it is native to this country, but probably would not have been the main attraction. In the accounts of the feast, a direct reference to the menu includes wild fowl and the venison brought over by the Indians.

Pulsipher said the Pilgrims would have had cranberries available to them, because they are native to New England. The Web site History.com said that, Pilgrims wouldn't have been able to make cranberry sauce to top their meal, because their supply of sugar would have already been depleted.

Another staple in our own Thanksgiving meals today is pumpkin pie. This treat did not grace the tables of the historic feast, however, because the modern-day recipe did not exist. It is recorded, however, that the pilgrims had recipes for stewed pumpkin.

Today, there is a legacy of thanks that has been carried on throughout the centuries and now marked as a national holiday.

Each year we gather as family and friends to rejoice in what is ours and eat a generous serving of food.

"I think that Thanksgiving is one of the most exciting American holidays," Sederholm said. "Mostly because we get to spend time with family and reflect on what's important to us together. Whether we celebrate it like the Pilgrims, seems, to me, to be beyond the point."

Copyright Brigham Young University 19 Nov 2008