in late september 1621, the pilgrims were pleased with their great harvest. to celebrate their first harvest, the pilgrims wanted to thank god and the native indian. they invited squanto and the entire wampanoag tribe that celebrate together in a shared feast.
it was said about ninety wampanoag turned up, much to the surprise of the pilgrims, whose population had shrunk to no more than 50. the chief of the tribe had his men hunt five deer to bring to the feast. the first thanksgiving dinner had an elaborate menu with venison, wild turkey, goose, duck, crane, swan, and other waterfowl; they also has local seafood: clams, lobsters, mussels, salmon, cod, bass, herring, shad, bluefish, lots of eel and oysters. they also cooked plenty of vegetables, among them squash, pumpkins and beans were the most popular.
they ate raspberries, strawberries, grapes, plums, cherries, blueberries, walnuts, chestnuts, acorns, hickory and ground nuts, wheat flour, indian corn and corn meal and they made beer out of barley. the pumpkin pudding was later developed into the traditional pumpkin pie.
the first thanksgiving dinner is said to have lasted from three days to one week with much food, beer and liquor. the pilgrims and the native indian sat together on the ground, shared food with fingers or used rough plates made of wood or stale bread. they ran races, played old english games and staged parades during the festive, with marches, drums and firing of their muskets.
"thanksgiving" related to the bible