Thanksgiving History

On November 26^th, Varsity is having our Annual Thanksgiving Cultural Dinner. Much like the Native Americans and the Pilgrims, we have this dinner to celebrate another successful year and alliance between our countries that are coming together for a common purpose. We encourage everyone to bring a dish and tell us about how it’s important to your culture so we can learn from each other and come closer as a family. To better understand the value of Thanksgiving, here is a brief history of how it began and its importance in the United States.

In 1620, a small ship called The Mayflower set sail from England with 102 passengers; all with a common dream of freedom in a new world. The trip was long and arduous. Many people aboard the ship suffered from exposure, scurvy, and widespread disease.  Unfortunately their troubles were not over once they finally landed in Plymouth Massachusetts. They had already suffered massive casualties, and by the time spring had come in 1621 only half of the original crew was still alive.

The first winter was very hard for the Pilgrims. Most of the voyagers remained on the ship throughout the winter. The weather was harsh and the soil was unlike any they had ever had, so their crops did not have a high yield. Fortunately for them, a Native American named Squanto came to their rescue. Squanto offered help to grow crops, live off the land, find water, and form alliances with the neighboring tribes of Native Americans. In November 1621 their hard work paid off and their corn crops had a successful yield. The Governor organized a celebratory feast and invited their Native American allies.

This celebratory feast would later be known as Thanksgiving. At the first Thanksgiving you may be surprised by some of the items on the menu. When Americans think of Thanksgiving we think of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pies and cakes. In actuality, the first Thanksgiving had no deserts of any kind because the settlers’ sugar supply had dwindled to almost nothing by 1621. Instead, they ate foods such as eel, swan, and corn, and also five deer brought by the Native American tribes to share. The feast lasted for three days!

There was a second Thanksgiving in 1623 to mark the end of a long drought. From there on it became a common practice of many New England settlements to have days for Thanksgiving each year. Things continued like this for close to 200 years. New York was the first state to make Thanksgiving an actual holiday in 1817. In 1827 a famous editor and song writer named Sarah Josepha Hale wrote the nursery rhyme titled “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” as a way of gathering support to make Thanksgiving a National Holiday. After countless hours of campaigning and multiple letters to Governors and other political officials, President Lincoln finally heeded her request. In 1863, Thanksgiving was announced as a National Holiday.

So please, join us November 26^th as we break bread and reflect at all we have to be thankful for. We are blessed to be sharing our passion with you, we are blessed to call you are friends and customers, and we are blessed to be together as the VCA family. Thank you all. Happy Thanksgiving.

  The authors：

- former High School Cheerleader

-former University of Missouri Cheerleader

-UCA staff and Head instructor 7 years

-10 years experience coaching at the High School, College, and Competitive level of Cheerleading