Six surprising facts about the history of Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims say their first “Thanksgiving” took place in July 1623 – not 1621

The feast celebrated by the pilgrims in 1621 was never referred to as “Thanksgiving” by the colonists. Rather, it was a harvest celebration, according to a report by historyofmassachusetts.org. The report said it was in July 1623 that the pilgrims did organize what they called a “Thanksgiving.” This celebration was not in any way connected to the fall harvest as it was just a religious day of prayer and fasting.

Then in 1962, a Virginia state senator wrote President John. F. Kennedy that “America’s First Thanksgiving was actually celebrated in Virginia in 1619.” The president had mentioned Plymouth as the site of the First Thanksgiving but the Virginia senator referred him to a religious ceremony English settlers held in 1619 when they arrived in Berkeley Plantation near Richmond, TIME reported. Kennedy did take note of this. In 1963, his Thanksgiving proclamation began: “Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and in Massachusetts … set aside a time of thanksgiving.”