Remove cooked by HL Nikolai

While I didn’t grow anything edible several in the family did. Tomatoes and pumpkins for sure. I’m thankful to celebrate and share their family harvest festival. I’m also thankful for fests I share with my friends in the Barony of the Lonely Tower.

Taking time to give thanks and celebrate the harvest goes back before Europeans came to the shores of the United States. Native Americans have shown gratitude, given and shared their harvest since time immemorial.

In grade-school I learned the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving. Today it’s known the first documented Thanksgivings in the future United States were held by the Spaniards and the French in the 16th century. By 1607 Thanksgiving services were routine in the future Commonwealth of Virginia. And the first permanent Jamestown, Virginia settlement held a thanksgiving in 1610. 

People feasting and being served in the 14th century Luttrell Psalter bas-de-page detail scene.

Feasting and Thanksgiving have changed over the centuries. Our family gathering tomorrow will have more than enough food for us all. But it won’t be my Grandmother’s formal Thanksgiving. Ours is a very blended family and our menu will reflect that. There will be turkey, deserts and celebration beverages. There will also be many guest provided dishes and treats.