The mysteries of Thanksgiving

The holiday's history remains muddled |

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. SUBSCRIBE to TIME Magazine November 23, 2017 By Lily Rothman To wish our American readers a happy Thanksgiving, here's a special edition of this newsletter, bringing together some of our best pieces about the history behind the holiday. For a holiday so closely linked to the early history of the U.S., it turns out that historians don't know as much about that past as you might think they do. It's no secret that there's a lot of mythology mixed in with the facts of how the harvest of 1621 was celebrated by the settlers at Plymouth and their Native American neighbors. As Olivia B. Waxman explored in a recent article on TIME History, part of the reason the balance on the First Thanksgiving is weighted toward myth is that there are really only two primary sources historians can look to for facts about that feast. One upshot of that dearth of information: many historians believe that whatever happened that autumn just wasn't seen as very important at the time — though there's no denying that it's gained stature in the nearly four centuries since. You can click here to read more about what we do know about the holiday, and happy Thanksgiving! HISTORY ON TIME.COM How Canadian Thanksgiving Is Different From the U.S. Version The date difference — one is in October, the other in November — isn't the only thing that separates the two holidays Why We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving The bird has long been the holiday's star Thanksgiving Wasn't Always a National Holiday The woman who made it happen is also known for writing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" A Moving Reason to Set an Extra Place at Thanksgiving Thanksgiving celebrants once added a "silent guest" to their holidays to help feed the hungry Astronauts Have Celebrated Thanksgiving in Space Since 1973 Here's how they make the holiday work See the Evolution of the Presidential Turkey Pardon From Harry Truman to Barack Obama, a look at how presidents approached one of Thanksgiving's stranger rituals: the White House turkey pardon A Brief History of Pie They’re simple, they’re American and come Thanksgiving, everybody saves room for them. But the pies we know today are a fairly recent addition to a… The (Recent) History of Black Friday Shopping The holiday season has long been considered shopping primetime — but the Black Friday rush is a more recent phenomenon What Black Friday Looked Like Before It Was Called Black Friday The kick-off to the holiday shopping season has long been a red-letter retail day. Here's what the rush looked like in 1948 A Brief History of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons The surprising history of Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, from their helium-filled highs to their dangerous, windswept lows To Unsubscribe Unsubscribe here if you do not want to receive this newsletter. Update Email Click here to update your email address. Privacy Policy Please read our Privacy Policy. TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. For Further Communication Please email history@time.com TIME Customer Service 3000 University Center Drive Tampa, FL 33612-6408 Connect with TIME Find TIME on Facebook Follow TIME on Twitter Subscribe to more TIME Newsletters Get TIME on your Mobile Device Get TIME on your iPad Subscribe to RSS Feed