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Thanksgiving Thoughts

By John Dietz - Email Editor

Date: Nov 22, 2005

For many of us, Thanksgiving is one of those days of the year in which you can indulge in the sin of gluttony and not feel too guilty about it.

But there’s more to the story.

First of all, the “Pilgrims” never called themselves “Pilgrims.” They were “Separatists,” meaning that they had separated from the authoritarian Church of England, which had been taken over by the “Puritans”, who were called that because they wished to “purify” the Church of England from all influences of Roman Catholicism. Since the Separatists were being persecuted by both the church as well as the state (the Church of England was subsidized by the Crown), many fled to Holland. At that period in time, Holland was one of the most enlightened countries in Europe. Holland was a strong maritime power with a large merchant fleet and a good navy. It had land reform that gave the peasants a chance to profit from what they grew. The Dutch had a thriving merchant class; free markets prevailed. And best of all, the Dutch were very tolerant of religion. You were free to worship as you chose.

The Separatists lived in Holland for a number of years and prospered. However, they found that their children were assimilating into the Dutch culture, and they feared that they would forget that they were, in fact, English.

Because they could not return to their mother country, they decided to risk coming to the New World. In a 100-foot ship (about the size of large sailing yacht) these brave souls survived bad weather, bad food, poor hygiene and a host of other maladies too harsh to mention. On the 25th of December, 1620 (Julian calendar) these hearty folks landed, not really knowing what to expect.

During their first winter in the New World, many of the Separatists died, either from disease or starvation. However that spring they were fortunate that a member of the Patuxet Indians, Squanto, came to them. Squanto had befriended English traders from a merchant ship that had landed there 10 years previously, and had lived in England for several years. He helped the pilgrims by showing them how to plant corn. He also showed them how to build warmer houses and how to live off the land. In short, he helped them survive.

The first Thanksgiving wasn’t called that. It was more of a “Harvest Festival” which was common in rural England in that era. The “pilgrims” did feast for several days on fish, fowl (possibly turkey, although I don’t know if they called it that back then) and other game. Nevertheless, I’m sure that they thanked God that they would probably survive the winter.

Separation of Church and State.

Now, what about separation of “Church and State” that so many people harp about? Look it up in the Constitution: There isn’t anything mentioned about it. What the Constitution does say is this: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The “pilgrims” fled England because they disagreed with the Church of England and the Puritans who were running it. The Church of England was (and still is) supported by the government. In that era, not belonging to it would mean that you would not be allowed to own property, vote or prosper accordingly. This was fresh in the minds of our founding fathers when they added this amendment (along with freedom of speech, freedom of the press, right to assemble, etc.) to the Constitution.

So, when you’re polishing off a drumstick, or having a second helping of pumpkin pie, perhaps you should consider this. Thanksgiving isn’t about food; it’s about freedom.

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