EDITOR’S NOTE:

Dear readers:

I share this unique article about the truth of the history of Thanksgiving – told by the native Indians themselves to show you what other media do not tell you. – MR.

The Thanksgiving Day celebration originated from a massacre

by Vincent Schilling

Considering Indian Country Today has published its fair share of the true history of Thanksgiving, in which 90 Wampanoag shared provisions with the Pilgrims in 1621, we thought we would take a bit of time delving into some of the most common misconceptions about the November holiday, especially since many Americans think it’s the only thing happening in November.

The Thanksgiving Day celebration originated from a massacre

In 1621, though Pilgrims celebrated a feast, it was not repeated in the years to follow. In 1636, a murdered white man was found in his boat and the Pequot were blamed. In retaliation settlers burned Pequot villages.

Additionally, English Major John Mason rallied his troops to further burn Pequot wigwams and then attacked and killed hundreds more men, women and children. According to Mason’s reports of the massacre, “We must burn them! Such a dreadful terror let the Almighty fall upon their spirits that they would flee from us and run into the very flames. Thus did the Lord judge the heathen, filling the place with dead bodies.”

The Governor of Plymouth William Bradford wrote: “Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, others run through with their rapiers, so that they were quickly dispatched and very few escaped. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire…horrible was the stink and scent thereof, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them.”

The day after the massacre, William Bradford who was also the Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, wrote that from that day forth shall be a day of celebration and thanks giving for subduing the Pequots and “For the next 100 years, every Thanksgiving Day ordained by a Governor was in honor of the bloody victory, thanking God that the battle had been won.”

Native Americans and the Pilgrims were “besties”

The above statement is straight from the mouth of a fifth-grader at Long Elementary School in Ohio, who stated the Indians (Wampanoag) and Pilgrims were not “besties” or best friends. True to this statement, the pilgrims in Massachusetts were far from friendly. Soon after arriving in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Pilgrims went into Indians’ dwellings and cornfields and took whatever they wanted leaving beads behind. But that isn’t the picture that is painted by many accounts of the first Thanksgiving.

According to one colonist’s account in Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen: “The next morning we found a place like a grave. We decided to dig it up. We found first a mat, and under that a fine bow… We also found bowls, trays, dishes, and things like that. We took several of the prettiest things to carry away with us, and covered the body up again.”

The Pilgrims settled in an area that was once Patuxet, a Wampanoag village, but it had been abandoned four years prior because of a deadly outbreak of a plague brought by European traders. Before 1616, the Wampanoag numbered 50,000 to 100,000, occupying 69 villages scattered throughout southeastern Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island. The plague, however, killed thousands, up to two-thirds, of them. Many also had been captured and sold as slaves.

Native Americans and Pilgrims came together to give thanks and celebrate

In 1621, when the Pilgrims were celebrating a successful harvest, they were shooting guns and cannons into the air. The Wampanoag chief and 90 warriors made their way to the settlement in full warrior mode—in response to the gunfire. As the Huffington Post’s Richard Schiffman puts it, “It remains an open question, however, whether the Wampanoag were actually invited, or if they crashed the party.”

The Pilgrims were most likely nervous—the Wampanoag outnumbered the Pilgrims two to one, but it certainly wasn’t the happy picture put forth in many history books. According to Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Ramona Peters, “It was Abraham Lincoln who used the theme of Pilgrims and Indians eating happily together. He was trying to calm things down during the Civil War when people were divided. It was like a nice unity story.”

They ate turkey, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce at the first Thanksgiving

According to many historical accounts, there is no proof of turkey gobbling at the 1621 meal, but there was wild fowl (most likely geese or duck). Sweet potatoes were not yet grown in North American and cranberries are not a likely dessert food because sugar was an unaffordable luxury. Other items on the table included such things as venison, pumpkin, succotash and Indian corn.

Europeans appreciated Squanto’s help

Many have heard the story of the friendly Indian Squanto who learned English from fishermen and later taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn and other vegetables. But what many history books don’t share is that Squanto was kidnapped as a boy and sold into slavery in Spain. After several years, Squanto struggled to get back to Cape Cod.

When he returned to his village, he discovered he was the only member of his tribe that remained—the rest were either killed in battle or died of disease during his absence.

Another myth here would be to note that Squanto did not learn English solely to help the colonists—it was a necessity to facilitate his escape so he could return home.

Pilgrims taught Indians about Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims did not introduce the sentiment of Thanksgiving to the Indians. According to Loewen, “Thanksgiving is full of embarrassing facts. The Pilgrims did not introduce the Native Americans to the tradition; Eastern Indians had observed autumnal harvest celebrations for centuries. Our modern celebrations date back only to 1863; not until the 1890s did the Pilgrims get included in the tradition; no one even called them ‘Pilgrims’ until the 1870s.”

EDITOR’S NOTE

Dear Readers:

Today is a very sad day for those human beings who have lost a loved one, and even more so for those who lost them just a few days ago, because it takes away the opportunity to even give space in their hearts to celebrate their life.

In commemoration of the Day of the Dead, I wanted to take a little walk around searching for information on how this event is being held in the different countries of Latin America, and this is what I found.

And I want, through this writing, to honor my late father, Don José Santos Ramírez Calero, who was a journalist warrior in Nicaragua. Wherever you are, my father, you will always be in my heart remembering that you were a light in the sky that continues to illuminate me after you left that day June 12, 2004, amidst pain and suffering for the cancer that killed you.

And just a day or so I take a chance to say a few words to dear Godfather who passed away a few years in Nicaragua, Mr. Evaristo Gómez.

And I offer my most sincere condolences to the family of two beloved Nicaraguan people whom I met here in San Francisco, who this week lost their loved ones by giving their soul to our Creator.

The first is the mother of my friend Sergio Iván Gutiérrez, Mrs. Gloria de los Angeles Berrios de Gutiérrez. She was 90 years of age. She died in the morning of Oct. 26 at her home in the Excelsior District of San Francisco surrounded by her family. Sergio could not attend due to forces beyond his will, and I imagine the pain he must be feeling unable to say goodbye to the woman who gave him the sincere self and love of a mother.

The second person to leave this world was the brother of Maria Elena Noguera, a lady dear and well-known in San Francisco for the rich dishes she prepared when she was the owner of the popular Red Baloon Restaurant on Mission Street.

Her brother, Orlando Antonio Noguera, who was 73 years old and suffering from extreme obesity, leaves his large family in pain for his departure.

And for them I say a prayer that their souls may be diluted in the fountain of life of the Most High.

Celebration of the Day of the Dead

As described in Notimérica’s writings, although Day of the Dead is normally related to Mexico, several Latin American countries commemorate this date, each in its own way.
The feast of this day comes from the indigenous cultures of the Aztecs, Mayas, Purepechas, Nahuas and Totonacas.
For 3000 years, they performed rituals in honor of their ancestors, rites that symbolized death and rebirth.
The Spanish conquerors of the fifteenth century were terrified by the practices of the natives on this day and, in their attempt to convert the Native Americans to Catholicism, changed the date of the celebration for the beginning of November. In this way, they coincided with the Catholic celebrations of the Day of All Saints and All Souls.
In Latin America, the Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1 and 2. The first is the day when souls return to children, and the second is the day they return to adults.
Mexico
The most important moment on this day is when people go to the cemetery during the night and adorn the tombs, usually with an orange flower called ‘xempazuchitl’.
In the houses, an altar is built in memory of the ancestors, where photographs of them, food and drinks are arranged so that the deceased can remember the flavors of his past life.
Among some of the elements of folklore used only at this time of year, we highlight the sweet bread – known as ‘bread of death’ – skulls made of sugar or small skulls, which are given away to friends.
Guatemala
In this country, there is a belief that blessed souls come out of cemeteries and appear in some places. For this reason, many people, like in Mexico, put water and a photograph of the deceased in the homemade altars. Days before the celebration, they cleaned the tombs and decorate them with the flower of the dead, of yellow color, that only flowers at this time.
Peru
As in Mexico and Guatemala, altars are also dedicated to the deceased. Offerings of candles and flowers are made in the cemetery and, once the food and drink is prayed for the deceased, the family members enjoy a banquet in their honor.
Venezuela
In Venezuela, there are no major celebrations. Relatives take advantage of this day to visit the cemetery, clean the graves and bring flowers.
El Salvador
In this country, the Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 2 and, rather than remembering their ancestors, take advantage of this day to celebrate the lives of those who are still alive.
Nicaragua
Nicaraguans attach great importance to this date and go further, celebrating this day in the cemetery during the night. They spend one night ‘sleeping’ with their dead, lying down beside the pantheons.
Honduras, Colombia and Costa Rica
In these three countries, believers go to cemeteries to bring offerings as a symbol of gratitude to the favors performed by the saints to their relatives.
Ecuador
  Ecuadorian families celebrate this day by gathering around a typically traditional meal: bread guaguas – bread figures shaped like children – and purple dressing, a drink made with black corn flour, fruits such as blackberry, pineapple and naranjilla, and blueberries.
The Altar of the Dead
It is a fundamental element in the celebration of the Day of the Dead.
The bereaved have the belief that the spirit of their deceased returns from the world of the dead to live with the family that day, and thus to comfort them and to comfort them by the loss.
The altar is characterized by its cheerful colors and photographs of the deceased, as well as some dishes of his preference in life.
The Dead Bread
There are different theories about the elements that make up this delicious and special piece of Mexican bakery.
For example, some say that the bones made of mass refer to those of the deceased one who is remembered, others who represent the four cardinal points. Even in some places there is the belief that its ingredients are associated with the fruits of the earth and life.
The Offering
It is to share with the deceased the bread, the salt, the fruits, patillos, the water and if they are adults, the wine. To offer is to be close to our dead to dialogue with his memory, with his life.
The offering is the reunion with a ritual that summons to the memory.
The Sugar Skulls
No Day of the Dead offering would be complete without the traditional sugar skullcuts. These sweet skulls are the product of a technique brought by the Spaniards.
One of its peculiarities is to carry in the upper part the name of the person to whom it is destined, since it is a form of reminder that the only thing that has the human being is death.