10 Thanksgiving Myths and Misconceptions
Pilgrims wore buckled hats and shoes.
They wore clothes similar to the popular myths on Sundays, but on regular days they wore more plain clothes that included brown and green colors.
They ate turkey at the first Thanksgiving.
Most likely, the did not eat turkey at the first thanksgiving. Instead they likely ate deer meat.
The first Thanksgiving was a one-day feast.
In 1621, the Pilgrims actually had a feast and celebration that lasted 3-4 days. They ate, played games, and made merry for three days.
The Pilgrims invented Thanksgiving.
They didn't. There are at least two different "first Thanksgiving" stories that predate them. One took place in a small town in modern-day Texas, the other in Virginia.
Turkey makes you sleepy.
Turkey does not actually contain enough turkey to make you sleepy, and certain proteins in it offset any effect it would have. Sleepiness on Thanksgiving is likely due to overeating and drinking alcohol.
The Cornucopia is a symbol of Thanksgiving only.
Only the in the U.S. Its origin goes back to Greek mythology, where it is a symbol of nature’s bounty and a woman’s fertility.
Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year.
It is one of the biggest, but a few days in December consistently outperform the day after Thanksgiving.
The Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock.
They landed near and settled near it, but this is nothing more than a myth perpetuated by the account of a very old man nearly 100 years after the fact.
The Pilgrims used a large banquet table during the first Thanksgiving.
Not likely. They most likely ate off of any available surface, and they likely did so with no utensils.
Thanksgiving was and is a religious observance.
There was no religious connotation to the so-called first Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims had suffered devastating losses the previous winter, and they were simply celebrating the fact that they were still alive.