More Thanksgiving "Facts"

Thanksgiving is over for another year, but many of you are probably munching on turkey sandwiches tonight. Not me. As I mentioned in my previous Thanksgiving post, I did steak. With the leftovers, I made teriyaki steak and asparagus pizza. (Trust me, it’s better than it sounds.)



Replica of Plymout Plantation House
Source: Wikimedia commons

Note: For those who are not so familiar with Pilgrims,
the kids are not in traditional Pilgrim outfits. I don't
think they had bright red rain boots back then. Cute pic though!

While I was cleaning out my inbox today, I ran across a post from History.com: 5 Things You May Not Know About the Pilgrims. Have you noticed how popular posts about Thanksgiving misconceptions are this year? Anyway, I learned something new that I thought was worth sharing.

In my previous post, I said that the Pilgrims sailed from Plymouth, England to Plymouth, Massachusetts. Of course, the Massachusetts Bay Colony wasn’t founded until 1628 so it wasn’t really Massachusetts back then. I assumed it wasn’t Plymouth back then either, but that the Pilgrims had named it that.

Not so, according to History.com. Evidently, Plymouth was already on the map and sailing from Plymouth to Plymouth was no more than a coincidence. Learn something new everyday!

Another thing not mentioned in the History.com article, but worth noting is that the Pilgrims did not call themselves Pilgrims. Officially they were known as Separatists, owing to their separation from the Church of England. According to Plimouth Plantation, the word Pilgrim was actually only used once in writing by William Bradford, the second Governor of Plymouth, but he was referencing scripture. It wasn’t commonly used until 150 years later.

I can’t promise that this is my last Thanksgiving post for another year. Although it’s not “my century” I find the details fascinating. Better than leftover turkey sandwiches anyway.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

MJ