Church of England, where they were a fixed custom long
before they were in New England. One wonders that the Puritans, hating
so fiercely the customs and set days and holy days of the Established
Church, should so quickly have appointed a Thanksgiving Day. But the
first New England Thanksgiving was not a day of religious observance, it
was a day of recreation. Those who fancy all Puritans, and especially
all Pilgrims, to have been sour, morose, and gloomy men should read this
account of the first Thanksgiving week (not day) in Plymouth. It was
written on December 11, 1621, by Edward Winslow to a friend in England:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling
that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we
had gathered the fruits of our labors. They four killed as much
fowl as with a little help beside served the company about a week.
At which times among other recreations we exercised our arms, many
of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest
king Massasoyt with some ninety men, whom for three days we
entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer
which they brought and bestow'd on our governor, and upon the
captains and others."

As Governor Bradford specified that during that autumn "beside
waterfoule ther was great store of wild turkies," we can have the
satisfaction of feeling sure that at that first Pilgrim Thanksgiving our
forefathers and foremothers had turkeys.

Thus fared the Pilgrims better at their Thanksgiving than did their
English brothers, for turkeys were far from plentiful in England at that
date.

Though there were but fifty-five English to eat the Pilgrim Thanksgiving
feast, there were "partakers in plenty," and the ninety sociable Indian
visitors did not come empty-handed, but joined fraternally in provision
for the feast, and probably also in the games.

These recreations were, without doubt, competitions in running, leaping,
jumping, and perhaps stool-ball, a popular game played by both sexes, in
which a ball was driven from stool to stool or wicket to wicket.

During that chilly November week in Plymouth, Priscilla Mullins and John
Alden may have "recreated" themselves with this ancient form of
croquet--if any recreation were possible for the four women of the
colony, who, with the help of one servant and a few young girls or
maidekins, had to prepare and cook