Thanksgiving:

Pilgrims, Indians,

&

Genesis 9:27

And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
 and declare his works with rejoicing (Psalm 107:22).

Nov.  21, 2010
Comments by
Paul Brown
www.lastgeneration.us 

The New World

    Many American Indians think of Thanksgiving as a time of mourning, of remembering how a gift of generosity was rewarded by theft of land and seed corn, extermination of many from disease and gun, and near total destruction of many more from forced assimilation: a bitter reminder of 500 years of betrayal returned for friendship. How do Thanksgiving, the American Indians, and the Pilgrims fit into God’s providence?

     The people who crossed the ocean on the Mayflower were not originally called Pilgrims. The Plymouth settlers did not refer to themselves as “Pilgrims.” Most of those who arrived in Plymouth from England fled from the Church of England because of persecution. They called themselves “Saints;” others called them “Separatists.” Some of the settlers were “Puritans.”  The Pilgrims were not of the witch-burning Puritan sect. However, they preached against witchcraft. It was not until around the time of the American Revolution that the name “Pilgrims” came to be associated with the Plymouth settlers. (From http://www.oyate.org/resources/shortthanks.html Correspondence with Abenaki scholar Margaret M. Bruchac. See also Plimoth Plantation, “A Key to Historical and Museum Terms,” www.plimoth.org/education/field_trips/ft-terms.htm;  “Who Were the Pilgrims?” www.plimoth.org/library/whowere.htm.)

     The Pilgrims were placed by God into the New World for the express purpose of evangelizing the North American Indians, African American slaves, and migrating Europeans ahead of the great Indian slaughters and slave trade debacle. Genesis 9:27 prophesied of the New World events: “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.” That is American History at large from the 1500’s to 1865. Any student of the Holy Scriptures studying biblical and historical facts knows the children of Japheth inhabited Europe, the children of Ham (Canaan was Ham’s son) inhabited Africa, and the children of Shem inhabited Asia. The children of Shem migrated from Russia, over the Bering Strait appx. 30 miles to the Diomede Islands, and then appx. another 30 miles to Alaska. From there the children of Shem migrated to Canada, America, Mexico, Central America, and South America and the rest is history.

     The big question is why? Why did God allow the Europeans to conquer the Americas, take away the land of Shem, and live in their “tents?” Why did God allow the Europeans to kidnap blacks from Africa and make them slaves in the New World to “serve Japheth?” Why were blacks made slaves in the US for approximately the same amount of time the Israelites were made slaves in Egypt? Why were the American Indians conquered and left to die on reservations without hope, drunkenness, and destitution? This was prophesied in Genesis 9:27 and is undeniable history. Why? The answer is false gods. These people left the true God and served idols. They served their false gods, false spirits, and false religions while abandoning God. The Pilgrims fled persecution from a dead State Religion, carrying the true gospel with them to the Americas. They brought to the New World the gospel and anyone accepting the truth of the gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ was blessed and a better person for this salvation.

Indians

     Samoset, an eastern Abenaki chief, was the first to contact the Plymouth colonists. He was investigating the settlement to gather information and report to Massasoit, the head sachem in the Wampanoag territory. In his hand, Samoset carried two arrows: one blunt and one pointed. The question to the settlers was: are you friend or foe? Samoset brought Tisquantum (Squanto), one of the few survivors of the original Wampanoag village of Pawtuxet, to meet the English and keep an eye on them. Tisquantum had been taken captive by English captains several years earlier, and both he and Samoset spoke English. Tisquantum agreed to live among the colonists and serve as a translator. Massasoit also sent Hobbamock and his family to live near the colony to keep an eye on the settlement and also to watch Tisquantum, whom Massasoit did not trust.

     The Wampanoag oral tradition says that Massasoit ordered Tisquantum killed after he tried to stir up the English against the Wampanoag. Massasoit himself lost face after his years of dealing with the English only led to warfare and land grabs. Tisquantum is viewed by Wampanoag people as a traitor, for his scheming against other Native people for his own gain. Massasoit is viewed as a wise and generous leader whose affection for the English may have led him to be too tolerant of their ways. (From http://www.oyate.org/resources/shortthanks.html  Correspondence with Margaret M. Bruchac about the relationship Samoset, Tisquantum, Hobbamock, and Massasoit. See also Margaret M. Bruchac and Catherine O’Neill Grace, 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving.)

     When Massasoit showed up with 90 men and saw there was a feast, they then went out and brought back five deer and lots of turkeys. Though the details of this event have become clouded in secular mythology, judging by Edward Winslow’s letter of 1622, it is most likely that Massasoit and his people provided most of the food for this “historic” meal. (From http://www.oyate.org/resources/shortthanks.html  See Duane Champagne, Native America: Portrait of the Peoples. Detroit: Visible Ink (1994), pp. 81-82; and Chuck Larsen, op. cit., p. 51.)

     A mere generation later, the balance of power had shifted so enormously and the theft of land by the European settlers had become so egregious that the Wampanoag were forced into battle. In 1637, English soldiers massacred some 700 Pequot men, women, and children at Mystic Fort, burning many of them alive in their homes and shooting those who fled. By 1675, there were some 50,000 colonists in the place they had named “New England.” That year, Metacom, a son of Massasoit, one of the first whose generosity had saved the lives of the starving settlers, led a rebellion. By the end of the conflict known as “King Philip’s War,” most of the Indian peoples of the Northeast region had been either completely wiped out, sold into slavery, or had fled for safety into Canada. (From http://www.oyate.org/resources/shortthanks.html  See “King Philip Cries Out for Revenge,” pp. 43-45; and “There Are Many Thanksgiving Stories to Tell,” pp. 49-52, in Thanksgiving: A Native Perspective. See also Margaret M. Bruchac and Catherine O’Neill Grace, op. cit.).

     Some American Indians unjustly accuse the true Christians for the slaughters. They group all European settlers into the same camp. There were ungodly Europeans who came to the New World and did kill and steal the Native American Indians’ land. However, to say all Europeans who came to the New World were evil is just as prejudiced when one says all Indians were savages. The Lord sent great men and women of God to the Americas to evangelize the New World and escape persecution. They by no means had killed and stolen from the Indians. Those evil works were carried out by the Europeans who did not believe in God. They may have had some “form” of godliness but they were not of God. Those two groups of Europeans cannot be clumped together into one group.

     Any nation who turns from God and chooses idols will not have the protection of God. The Africans served their false gods and the Indians served their false gods. The ungodly Europeans stole, plundered kidnapped, ravished, and killed. Why did God Almighty allow this tragedy? The truth is one cannot blame God for what happened. These groups of people chose to call on their false gods to help them and those false gods had failed them. If they would have called on the true God then they would have been saved. God in His mercy sent European missionaries to the Indians and the black slaves. Many African Americans chose to receive the gospel and call upon God for deliverance from the evil hand of slavery. God answered their prayers. The black Americans are some of the most blessed people on earth today regardless of the rhetoric played out on television. They chose salvation and God has heard their prayers.

     Many American Indians have chosen to reject the gospel and blame everything on the Europeans. The blame is to fall on the American Indians who have chosen to reject the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in their false gods and spirits to protect them. Their false gods have failed them. Thanksgiving today has become a feast of the flesh. Not many even think of God on this day. For the heathen it is a day to worship and give thanks to their false gods. From the spirits of the earth, to the false goddess mother earth, to football, beer, and gluttony, Thanksgiving Day is no longer a day where the majority thank God for all His provisions and blessings. Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God (II Corinthians 9:11). Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6). Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen (Revelation 7:12).

Historic Harvest Feasts

      Throughout history mankind has celebrated the bountiful harvest with thanksgiving ceremonies. Many ancient farmers believed that their crops contained spirits which caused the crops to grow and die. Many believed that these spirits would be released when the crops were harvested and they had to be destroyed or they would take revenge on the farmers who harvested them. Some of the harvest festivals celebrated the defeat of these spirits. Some of the more well-known harvest festivals and thanksgiving celebrations were held by the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Hebrews, the Chinese, and the Egyptians. The modern day Thanksgiving feast in the US has devolved into a pagan ritual with no resemblance of the original festival held to give thanks to God for the plentiful bounty God had bestowed on the Pilgrims fleeing religious persecution.

The Greeks

     The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses. Their goddess of grains was Demeter who was honored at the festival of Thesmosphoria held each autumn. On the first day of the festival married women would build leafy shelters and furnish them with couches made with plants. On the second day they fasted. On the third day a feast was held and offerings to the goddess Demeter were made - gifts of seed corn, cakes, fruit, and pigs. It was hoped that Demeter's gratitude would grant them a good harvest.

The Romans

     The Romans also celebrated a harvest festival called Cerelia, which honored Ceres their goddess of grain (from which the word cereal comes). The festival was held each year on October 4th and offerings of the first fruits of the harvest and pigs were offered to Ceres. Their celebration included music, parades, games and sports and a thanksgiving feast.

The Chinese

     The ancient Chinese celebrated their harvest festival, Chung Ch'ui, with the full moon that fell on the 15th day of the 8th month. This day was considered the birthday of the moon and special "moon cakes,” round and yellow like the moon, would be baked. Each cake was stamped with the picture of a rabbit - as it was a rabbit, not a man, which the Chinese saw on the face of the moon. According to legend Chung Ch'ui gave thanks for a special occasion. China had been conquered by enemy armies who took control of the Chinese homes. The Chinese found themselves homeless and with no food. Many starved. In order to free themselves they decided to attack the invaders.  The women baked special moon cakes which were distributed to every family. In each cake was a secret message which contained the time for the attack. When the time came the invaders were surprised and easily defeated. Every year moon cakes are eaten in memory of this victory.

The Hebrews

     Jewish families celebrate harvest festivals taking place each autumn celebrated since the time of Moses. The festivals called Hag haSuccot - the Feast of the Tabernacles and Hag haAsif - the Feast of Ingathering begin on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishri, 5 days after Yom Kippur the most solemn day of the Jewish year. Sukkoth is named for the huts (succots) that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land. These huts were made of branches and were easy to assemble, take apart, and carry as the Israelites wandered through the desert. When celebrating Sukkoth, which lasts for 8 days, the Jewish people build small huts of branches which recall the tabernacles of their ancestors. These huts are constructed as temporary shelters, as the branches are not driven into the ground and the roof is covered with foliage which is spaced to let the light in. Inside the huts are hung fruits and vegetables, including apples, grapes, corn, and pomegranates. On the first two nights of Sukkoth the families eat their meals in the huts under the evening sky. The feasts are to remind the Hebrews what God has done for them and to thank Him for the miracles He has provided.

The Egyptians

     The ancient Egyptians celebrated their harvest festival in honor of Min, their god of vegetation and fertility. The festival was held in the springtime, the Egyptian's harvest season. The festival of Min featured a parade in which the Pharaoh took part. After the parade a great feast was held. Music, dancing, and sports were also part of the celebration. When the Egyptian farmers harvested their corn, they pretended to be grief-stricken and wept. This was to deceive the spirit which they believed lived in the corn. They feared the spirit would become angry when the farmers cut down the corn where it lived.

The United States

     The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America, were fleeing religious persecution in their native England. On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a ship called the Mayflower. They sailed from Plymouth, England and aboard were 44 Pilgrims, who called themselves the "Saints," and 66 others who were called “Strangers.” The first winter was devastating to the Pilgrims. The cold, snow, and sleet was exceptionally heavy, interfering with the workers as they tried to construct their settlement. March brought warmer weather and the health of the Pilgrims improved, but many had died during the long winter. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew who left England, less than 50 survived the first winter.

     On March 16, 1621, an Indian brave walked into the Plymouth settlement. The Pilgrims were frightened until the Indian called out "Welcome" in English. After staying the night Samoset left the next day. He soon returned with another Indian named Squanto who spoke better English than Samoset. Squanto told the Pilgrims of his voyages across the ocean and his visits to England and Spain. It was in England where he had learned English. Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to tap the maple trees for sap. He taught them which plants were poisonous and which had medicinal powers. He taught them how to plant the Indian corn by heaping the earth into low mounds with several seeds and fish in each mound. The decaying fish fertilized the corn. He also taught them to plant other crops besides the corn.

     The harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims found themselves with enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn, fruits and vegetables, fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over smokey fires. The Pilgrims had much to celebrate, they had built homes in the wilderness, they had raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, and they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. All this was not possible without the providence of God. The Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native Americans. They invited Squanto and the other Indians to join them in their celebration. Their chief, Massasoit, and 90 braves came to the celebration which lasted for three days.

     The 3rd year brought a spring and summer that was hot and dry with the crops dying in the fields. Governor Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer, and it was soon thereafter that the rain came. To celebrate - November 29th of that year was proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the real true beginning of the present day Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving is another name for the Harvest festival, held in churches across Europe on a relevant Sunday to mark the end of the local harvest. This tradition was taken to North America by early settlers. The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770's) a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.

The Modern Day "Turkey Day"

Is Worlds Apart From The True Meaning Of Thanksgiving.

     In the Northeastern United States, the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest nights of the year for bars and pubs, as it is the first night back to their hometowns for many college students returning from the semester. In New York City, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held annually every Thanksgiving Day in Midtown Manhattan. The parade features moving floats with specific themes such as scenes from Broadway plays, large balloons of cartoon characters and TV personalities, and high school marching bands. The float that traditionally ends the Macy's Parade is the Santa Claus float. This float is a sign that the Christmas buying season has begun. Thanksgiving parades also occur in many cities such as Plymouth, Houston, Philadelphia (which claims the oldest parade), and Detroit. The city of Stamford, Connecticut holds an alternative parade to the Macy's parade (with different characters on the balloons) the Sunday before Thanksgiving that has attracted over 250,000 people in recent years.

     The American winter holiday season (generally the Christmas shopping season in the U.S.) traditionally begins when Thanksgiving ends, on "Black Friday" (the day after Thanksgiving); this tradition has held forth since at least the 1930s. While the biggest day of shopping of the year in the U.S., as measured by customer traffic, is still the Friday after Thanksgiving (the biggest by sales volume is either the Saturday before Christmas or December 23), most shops start to stock for and promote the December holidays immediately after Halloween, and sometimes even before.

    American football is often a major part of Thanksgiving celebrations in the U.S. and likewise Canadian football in Canada. Professional games are traditionally played on Thanksgiving Day in both countries; until recently in the U.S., these were the only games played during the week apart from Sunday or Monday night. Thanksgiving has literally become a day of beer, football, and feasting on turkey and pumpkin pie. No mention of God and being thankful to Him is even considered. Thanksgiving Day is now Turkey Day and is not a day to thank God for His bounty. America has forgotten God. Psalm 9:17 says, The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God (II Corinthians 9:11).

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6).

Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen (Revelation 7:12).

The Missing Day

The Missing Day

By Jack T. Chick LLC

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1025/1025_01.asp

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