The celebration on the fourth Thursday of November resonates deeply in the American psyche, but the historical source of Thanksgiving’s legacy across the centuries rests on a surprisingly thin slice of documentation. In fact, “the only surviving first-hand account of a celebration in 1621 comes from the pen of Edward Winslow,” historian Robert Tracy McKenzie explains in The First Thanksgiving. This concise missive is short on details, but long on atmosphere — Thanksgiving atmosphere of the Pilgrim persuasion. Have a great holiday! But first, a brief message from the 17th century…
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