Plimoth Plantation

What’s in a Name?

What’s in a name? Does it really matter all that much what name or label we use to identify groups of people? The bard William Shakespeare famously had Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, say, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” If by that he meant the name of the flower isn’t what matters; but rather the fragrance of it, well then, sure what difference does it make? But what if the alternate […]

Continue reading
First Thanksgiving

The “First” Thanksgiving Was No Picnic

The traditional Thanksgiving story about the Pilgrims and the Native Americans coming together for three days of feasting is as much fiction as fact. For starters, there are credible claims of other thanksgiving celebrations among European immigrants that predate the 1621 version taught in many schools. The Natives had their own rituals around marking the harvest season. The New England Natives and the Europeans did come together approximately a year after the English arrived on […]

Continue reading
Grandchildren on Thanksgiving Day

Thank Tisquantum for Thanksgiving

Before you carve into that turkey, pause to thank God for Tisquantum. You may have heard of him as Squanto. That’s his Anglicized name. Tisquantum was a member of the Patuxet tribe that lived in what is today Massachusetts. By whatever name you may know him, you probably do not know what a significant part he played in the traditional Thanksgiving story about the Pilgrims and Native Americans feasting together in the fall of 1621. […]

Continue reading