Please forgive my moment of snobbery, but Virginians are not a truly humble lot when it comes to our history. This is the time of year we get our hackles up..all these black-shod Pilgrims! I say...BAH HUMBUG! Allow me to do my part to dispel these sad rumors that have placed the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth.
"What?" you say...you didn't know? Well, allow me to introduce you to the history we Virginians hold dear.
The first colonial Thanksgiving was held at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia - not Plymouth, Massachusetts. This location is not far from the Jamestown settlement (1607). Here is what the "Virginia is for Lovers" tourism website says about the day:
On this day, Dec. 4, 1619, these 38 men from Berkeley Parish in England were given the instructions: "Wee ordaine that the day of our ships arrivall at the place assigned for plantacon in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God."
Here is a great history lesson from another website (which happens to be local to the Jamestown area - Chesapeake, VA, actually). You'll see why my Anglicanism runs deep...one of my family's ancestors is mentioned, a Reverend Robert Hunt. Oddly, I'd never realized that he was among the original Jamestown colonists. Mom neglected to tell me that part!
And from the First Among Virginians: I'm sure he had Berkeley and not Plymouth in mind. :)
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4 comments:
Funny, I was just reading this with my daughter in her history book.
Thanks! I did not know this!
Bwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaahaaaaaaa
You Virginians certainly are not humble :)
My Virginian through and through DH hates the hoopla surrounding the 'pilgrim' thanksgiving :)
AND his mother was also from piedmont NC area around Statesville :)
Yes, yes, it is true...we can be the most humble "salt of the earth" types, as long as you don't go messing with our history. :)
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