| Originally appeared on News-Journal Online at http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/florida/2011/11/24/mass-of-thanksgiving-in-st-augustine-preceded-plymouth-rock.html | | Print This Page |
As the bronze turkey basks in glory on its platter today and family and friends pause to reflect on that first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims and Native Americans in 1621, Florida history buffs might suggest feasting on garlic stew instead.
The stew would be a nod to a New World Thanksgiving feast that took place in St. Augustine 66 years before Plymouth Rock.
On Sep. 8, 1565, Spanish explorers and priests sat down with Florida's native Timucuans to dine on cocina, a garlic stew of pork, garbanzo beans and olive oil.
The occasion? A Mass of thanksgiving for the safe journey of Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his company of 800 Spaniards, who had just arrived in present-day St. Augustine, said Michael Gannon, a Florida historian.
This story, detailed in Gannon's book "The Cross in the Sand," is recounted on a Visit Florida website designed to help residents and visitors count down 500 days to the start of a year-long celebration planned for 2013 to commemorate the 500-year anniversary of explorer Juan Ponce de Leon's arrival.
The nonprofit tourism marketing corporation and the Florida Humanities Council are steering the planning effort, which already encompasses many agencies, schools and organizations across the state.
"We wanted to share stories in light of the anniversary," said Kenneth Morgan, public relations manager for Visit Florida. "In the coming year we're going to see more initiatives about the state's celebration."
Volusia and Flagler officials also have begun planning local anniversary events.
Volusia County started its discussions at a communitywide meeting earlier this month.
County Councilwoman Joie Alexander, a retired educator, said even she has been surprised by what she has learned about Florida's early history, including the earlier Thanksgiving in St. Augustine.
"It's exciting to me what I've learned so far," Alexander said. "Many people don't know what Florida's history is and we have such a diverse cultural history."
The committee's second meeting is expected to take place in early December.
The 500-year anniversary is being promoted internationally, she said, and is going to be "a great economic opportunity for tourism."
Flagler County will be participating in events such as a bike ride planned to cultural sites on the coast, said county spokesman Carl Laundrie.
For Florida's first Thanksgiving, historians say the Timucuans likely contributed a variety of wild game and fish. Side dishes, however, might have been similar to those served at Plymouth Rock and on our tables today: squash, beans, pumpkin and fruit and nuts, according to the story by Jon Wilson on the Visit Florida website. But, while the Spanish may have washed down their food with red wine, the Timucuans were teetotalers, drinking water or an herbal beverage made from a coastal weed.
The story of the Mass was recorded by the fleet's chaplain, Gannon said. A replica of the makeshift altar for that 1565 celebration can be seen today at the mission Nombre de Dios and Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine, one of the locations on the state's cultural heritage trail.
MORE: facebook Florida 500 Anniversary | VisitFlorida | Viva Florida 500
© 2011 The Daytona Beach News-Journal
No comments:
Post a Comment