By Starr Munro: Riverbend News
The story of the first Thanksgiving has been taught to school children every year since the time of small school houses. It's common knowledge that the Pilgrims came to America on the Mayflower in search of religious freedom in 1621. And we're taught that after a very hard first winter that resulted in many lost lives, the Protestants held a feast of thanksgiving with the local Native American tribe, the Wampanogs. This account is not wrong but in 1923 a Florida historian named Jeannette Thurber Connor translated an account from a Spanish physician by the name of Gonzalo Meras that came to Florida aboard the ship San Pelayo. An account dating back to 1565 has proven that the first Thanksgiving occurred more than 50 years before the Mayflower came ashore on what was to one day be American soil.
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed in a part of Florida that was to be christened as St. Augustine, the first settlement in Florida and the oldest European settlement in America. A well-known Spanish leader and military man, Admiral Avilés, was the very first Governor of Florida and even named the region La Florida, which roughly translates to "land of flowers" in English. It was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery and there are two written accounts. One was written by the ship’s chaplain, Father Lopez and the other was the aforementioned Doctor Meras who was aboard the ship as well.
It is written that when Admiral Avilés first walked upon the sand of St. Augustines beach he kissed a cross held by Father Lopez and claimed the land for both God and country. The Timucuan Tribe was there the moment they landed and mimicked the act. A makeshift alter was erected right then and there and Father Lopez conducted the first catholic mass of thanksgiving for their safe arrival. Unlike the Thanksgiving of 1623 with the Protestant Pilgrims, this was less a celebration of a bountiful harvest and more of a purely religious rite. Well-noted Florida Historian Michael Gannon (author of The Cross in the Sand, the novel that shocked Americans everywhere when it was published in 1965) wrote this in regards to this particular version of the ritual dinner: "It was the first community act of religion and thanksgiving in the first permanent (European) settlement in the land."
Translated accounts also highlight another large difference between the Thanksgiving in Massachusetts and the one that took place in Florida. The Wampanoag Tribe was invited to the harvest feast, but by most accounts, that was just by chance and it would have been rude not to invite them. It's likely Chief Massasoit only happened to be in the area to diplomatically share his people’s bounty with nearby local tribes and was called on to join what was already planned. Whereas the Timucuans received a much more meaningful invitation by the mere fact that it was the very first communion that the Spanish took part in.
The Florida tribe would have also had much more to offer for the Spanish Thanksgiving than the Wampanoag did for the Pilgrims for the Protestants were in fact already celebrating a bountiful harvest. It is recorded that deer was offered by the Wampanoag tribe to the feast that was already prepared by the pilgrims, a result of their bountiful harvest. The Spanish on the other hand would have only had wine, biscuits, and maybe a stew to offer for their humble communion; provisions they would have already had at their disposal from their long voyage. The Timucuans would have been able to offer a wealth of food rich in protein and taste for the weary but thankful travelers. Food of the sea like turtle, shark, clams, mullet and sea catfish. Bear, turkey, venison, tortoise and even alligator is also written to have been served.
This Thanksgiving the traditions will be the same as they were last year. The football game will be watched and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be enjoyed all over the country. And there will be someone from everyone's family who will be laid out on the living room floor, cutting out coupons for the next day of shopping but unable to move from eating so much turkey. And hopefully this year, a fresh perspective of the first communion in America and the origins of this holiday can make some feel even more blessed. To live in a state like Florida, a place full of hidden history is something most Floridians feel very grateful for and for good reason.