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THANKSGIVING
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2006 Online
Thanksgiving Exhibition
by Peggy M. Baker, Director & Librarian
Pilgrim Society & Pilgrim Hall Museum |
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| Thanksgiving is far
more than a festive family dinner! Even
that famous “First Thanksgiving at Plymouth” incorporated sporting
events. Edward Winslow,
describing the harvest celebration of 1621, wrote
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"at which time amongst other Recreations,
we exercised our Armes, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst
the rest their greatest king Massasoyt, with some ninetie men, whom for
three dayes we entertained and feasted…”
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Could one of those “Recreations” and part of that “Entertainment”
have been football?
Certainly,
“foot ball” would have been known to the Pilgrims as an elementary
form of soccer (which is still “football” to most of the world). Games of kicking balls are of great antiquity. The record is far too sparse, however, to make a direct connection to that First Thanksgiving at Plymouth.
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Even though the
tradition of the annual Thanksgiving football game does not date from
1621, it has a long and honorable history. There have been football
games on Thanksgiving Day for well over one hundred years.
How did Thanksgiving and football become so closely associated in the
American mind?
Read on for
the fascinating story.
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