Thanksgiving: The Making Of An American Holiday

Pilgrims in tall black hats and Indians in feathered headdresses may be the most commonly recognized emblems of Thanksgiving, one of America's most popular national holidays (it surpasses Christmas as the busiest travel time of the year). But the real origins of the holiday have little to do with Plymouth Rock and a lot more to do with a nation in turmoil during the Civil War — more than 200 years after the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth in 1620. BU Today asked anthropologists Merry White, a College of Arts and Sciences professor, and Tony Barrand, a CAS professor and a University Professor, to give us some insight into the foggy beginnings of America's favorite day.

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[histrav]

As a Mayflower descendant, I rather resent how my ancestors have been hijacked by others, becoming these almost mythological, even cartoon-ish, figures. I know the Plymouth "Pilgrims" to be real people, with both virtues and flaws, whose DNA runs in my veins.