James W. Baker, Senior Historian at Plimoth Plantation, was quoted as saying that the reason we have so many myths associated with Thanksgiving is that it is an invented tradition. Invented or otherwise, Thanksgiving is a time of year we share our blessings with family and recall the contributions of the First Comers, whose struggles and triumph founded a nation. We accept that such an incredible history begets myths. And, as such, our Thanksgiving myths have come part of American folklore.

Myth 1- Plymouth Rock

According to legend, when the Pilgrims first stepped onto the shores of the New World, they stepped onto a large boulder in Plymouth Bay. This rock, forever cemented in American culture, is called Plymouth Rock.

According to historian George Willison, the story about the rock is a public relations stunt pulled off by townsfolk to attract attention. This would consistent with what we know about the Pilgrims early days. They first made landfall at Provincetown. Willison traced the tale of the Plymouth Rock to a story from Thomas Faunce, who claimed to have heard the tale more than a century after the Mayflower’s landing. There are no specific accounts by the Pilgrims of their landing boulder, but we do know they faced rocky shores. We also know that a large rock is preserved in the Pilgrim Memorial State Park bearing the name the Plymouth Rock.

In 1774, driven by legend, the men of Plymouth attempted to move the rock, which then split in two. The Rock was moved to the Plymouth Hall museum. The rock has been split, dragged and chipped at and now is protected by an iron fence. It can be seen in Plymouth Memorial State park for millions to sea.

Myth 2- Pilgrims celebrated the First Thanksgiving in America

Grateful for a plentiful harvest and their surviving the harsh winter of 1620, the Pilgrims joined with the local Wampanog tribe and feasted for 3 days. Americans have long considered this the first Thanksgiving in America. However, others lay claim to having the first American Thanksgiving.

Texans actually claim that the first Thanksgiving in America took place in 1598 in a little community near El Paso. For several years, reenactments have been stage commemorating this festival, which occurred two decades before the Plymouth feast.

The original first colony, Virginia, also has a stake in this claim. According to the Berkeley Plantation on the James River the first Thanksgiving in America was held there on December 4th, 1619. This celebration would have occurred at least year before the Pilgrims arrival.

However, lets not forget that the original Americans, the indigenous people had their own celebrations long before the arrival of Europeans. The Wampanoags, which aided the Pilgrims, had their Thanksgiving celebration, called Nikkommo, prior to the arrival of the Spanish, Dutch, English and the Norse.

Myth 3 - Love Triangle of Alden, Standish and Mullins

In 1858, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published a book of poetry, entitled the Courtship of Miles Standish. Longfellow is best known for his poems, Paul Revere’s Ride and the Song of Hiawatha. His lyric poems often presented stories of mythology and legend.

Set against the backdrop of a fierce Indian war, the Courtship of Myles Standish focuses on a love-triangle between three real Pilgrims- the soldier Miles Standish, the young woman, Priscilla Mullins and a young leader John Alden. Longfellow claimed the story was true, but the historical evidence is inconclusive. Nevertheless, the ballad was very popular in nineteenth-century America, immortalizing the Mayflower Pilgrims.

Myth 4 - Original Thanksgiving was about Faith and Family

Our current Thanksgiving celebrations are great times to give thanks for ones blessings and share time with family. However, the very first Pilgrim Thanksgiving was a bit different.

The Pilgrims arrived in the New World at the onset of winter. The conditions were harsh and half of the Pilgrims died during this winter in 1620. By the spring 1621, the Pilgrims allied with the local tribe of Native Americans, the Wampanoags, who helped them grow crops, and taught them how to hunt and fish. By the Fall of 1621, the Pilgrims planned a feast in celebration of their good harvest. 90 members of the Wampanoag tribe shared a three day celebration with the Pilgrims. Thanksgiving was a multicultural community event, better characterized as a harvest celebration and not a family or religious celebration.

Myth 5 Pilgrims only wore Black

When artists portray the Pilgrims, they offer portraits of men and women, who wear black and grey with large white collars. The best example of this is the work of American artist George H. Broughton in his famous painting, Pilgrims Going to Church. These images that we see are more of traditional Puritan garb, but as we know from history, the Pilgrims were not typical Puritans.

During the 1600s, the Pilgrims were a minority of the Puritan Church. Pilgrims and Puritans agreed on principles of the Bible. They each wore darker more somber colors at worship services and services; however, in everyday life, things were different.

The Pilgrims wore a wide arrayed of colored garments generally made of wool, silk, and linen. It would not be unusual to see greens, blues, violets and reds versus the black and grey. We have clues from these colonial forefathers. There wills and journals offer proof of the diversity of their possessions and their garb.

The style of clothing of the Pilgrims was distinct from their Puritan brothers and sisters. This could be due to their short sojourn in Holland or remnants from their life stations in England.

Many of the English Separatists were lawyers, bailiffs, postmasters, and other men of status in England. In England, the colors worn denoted social significance. Wearing black signified that you were of a respectable status. Blue was worn by servants and children. The red and browns were worn by countrymen. However, this philosophy may have been altered or influenced when these same people of status took on lesser trades in the Dutch Colonies. The Separatists learned the clothing and shoe trade and probably adopted the styles of the diverse cultures of those other immigrants- Iberian Jews, Germans, French Huguenots, and the like that had found refuge in Holland. The English immigrants learned to work with linen, leather, furs, silk and wool and replaced the darker, duller colors with more blues, reds, greens, and violets.

Myth 6- Pilgrims and Puritans Are the Same

This is a point that causes confusion for many, even great President. During the 1600s, there was religious persecution in England and a splinter church, the Puritan Church broke from the Church of England. But, there were two factions in the church, one that wanted to reform the church from within and the other that considered internal reform impossible. The former were the Puritans and the latter was the group that would become the founding Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims having emigrated from England to Holland had experienced discrimination, persecution and even discrimination abroad. In hopes of a better life, they faced perils and loss at sea. Landing in the New World, they lost half their numbers. These experiences left them more humble than their Puritan counterparts, who had the luxuries, and wealth. The Puritans left England organized and with greater resources founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

For Americans, the distinction between Puritans and Pilgrims may simply be one of semantics or the uniqueness of each groups experience in the New World. In light of the distinctions in experience and inspirations, the Puritans and the Pilgrims shared history and experience of religious oppression and persecution. The Puritans actively sought to change their homeland by changing the church. The Pilgrims felt independence from England would give them the ability to practice their faith without persecution. Each group shared a strong commitment to God and the Holy Scriptures and it was this commitment that inspired the Pilgrims and the Puritans to cross a vast ocean and settle in an basically undiscovered land.

There are more myths regarding the Thanksgiving meal, relationships between Native Americans and the First Comers, and when Thanksgiving became a national celebration. Regardless of the legends, we know certain facts. Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday for sharing blessings and for remembering the struggles of those brave men and women who helped found a nation.

For more information on other myths, check out the following websites:

Related Links

http://www.history.com/content/thanksgiving/mayflower-myths

http://www.genealogyforum.rootsweb.com/gfaol/Thanksgiving/Myths.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow

http://hnn.us/articles/1126.html