Lesson from our past history: lets help out each other more in many different ways: health, love, and also spiritually!….Happy Thanksgiving!
Learning from our past is what makes a society smarter, more resilient, more developed.
Health Care reform? Thanksgiving? You wonder why these two go together in a special day like today. Our brave and courageous pilgrims needed help to grow the first harvest. Native Indians didn’t think about it: They just helped out, reached out. That was the beginning. Lets help each other out more in many different ways: Health, love and also spiritually: That’s why we live in the greatest country, United States of America.
LEARNING FROM OUR PAST
In 1621, native indians, the Wampanoag Indian and the Plymouth colonists shared an autumn harvest feast which is considered today as one of the first Thanksgiving. This harvest and shared meal has become a symbol of cooperation, respect, interaction and collaboration between English colonists and Native Americans.
Foods That May Have Been on the Menu
Seafood: Cod, Eel, Clams, Lobster
Wild Fowl: Wild Turkey, Goose, Duck, Crane, Swan, Partridge, Eagles
Meat: Venison, Seal
Grain: Wheat Flour, Indian Corn
Vegetables: Pumpkin, Peas, Beans, Onions, Lettuce, Radishes, Carrots
Fruit: Plums, Grapes
Nuts: Walnuts, Chestnuts, Acorns
Herbs and Seasonings: Olive Oil, Liverwort, Leeks, Dried Currants, Parsnips
What Was Not on the Menu
Surprisingly, the following foods, all considered staples of the modern Thanksgiving meal, didn’t appear on the pilgrims’s first feast table:
Ham: There is no evidence that the colonists had butchered a pig by this time, though they had brought pigs with them from England.
Sweet Potatoes/Potatoes: These were not common.
Corn on the Cob: Corn was kept dried out at this time of year.
Cranberry Sauce: The colonists had cranberries but no sugar at this time.
Pumpkin Pie: It’s not a recipe that exists at this point, though the pilgrims had recipes for stewed pumpkin.
Chicken/Eggs: We know that the colonists brought hens with them from England, but it’s unknown how many they had left at this point or whether the hens were still laying.
Milk: No cows had been aboard the Mayflower, though it’s possible that the colonists used goat milk to make cheese.
Source: Kathleen Curtin, Food Historian at Plimoth Plantation.
Super Body Super Brain
The evolution of society only comes from a collective collaboration among many. As we look into the past we can extrapulate the significant historical patterns, adapt and overcome for the greater good. This initial Thanksgiving meal may have been meager but lasted as a symbol through time and draws upon our values each year; we are inclusive of diversity and mindful of demographic shifts. We have the opportunity to be self serving or selfless to build a strong community foundation for future generations and pass on a legacy.