The REAL First Thanksgiving
"As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, school children everywhere are dusting off their Pilgrim costumes and asking their parents for contributions of turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce for classroom recreations of the famous Plymouth meal. REAL Thanksgiving book cover
"But Florida schoolchildren in particular should really be researching the attire of Spanish soldiers and Timucuan Indians and asking grandma to help them find garbanzo beans and chorizo sausage for their communal school meal."
So starts a treatise on the Florida Humanities Council website, setting the record straight on America's traditional holiday.
It echoes the assertion by Historian Michael Gannon that earned him the title "The Grinch Who Stole Thanksgiving" in New England circles.
"The REAL first Thanksgiving took place in St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. . . . The meal, shared by Spanish soldiers and natives of the Seloy tribe, was a celebration of the safe arrival of the Spanish expedition of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés."
Ponte Vedra's Robyn Gioia is bringing that message to young students in her book, America's REAL First Thanksgiving.
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