Today is Thankgiving in the USA when we celebrate the feast held by the Pilgrims and Indians in 1621. We finished our feast with this pumpkin cake, topped with pumpkin frosting and craisins. My sister-in-law brought it and added real leaves and cedar around the base for embellishment. On that first Thanksgiving, historians tell us that Chief Massasoit and his braves brought five dressed deer and more than a dozen wild turkey. They probably also had smoked fish. The colonists of Patuxet made a pudding out of cornmeal and maple syrup and learned how to roast popcorn . The Indians had shown them how to dry fruit, so they might have eaten blueberry and apple pies. For three days, they feasted and competed in shooting contests with guns and bows. They had foot races and drills, and the festivities all began with a prayer of thanksgiving offered by William Brewster, thanking God especially for their friendship with the Indians who literally had saved their lives by showing them how to survive in the new land.
Happy Thanksgiving!
