In the fall of 1621, Governor William Bradford (my 12th great grandfather) and the Pilgrims gathered with their Wampanoag neighbors to thank God for a bountiful harvest and their survival in a new land. For three days, they feasted, prayed and gave thanks under the open sky. Bradford, who was a student of Hebrew, wrote that he desired to “see with my own eyes the ancient oracles of God in their native beauty.” Their deep connection to the Old Testament shaped their lives and worship. The first Thanksgiving aligns with the biblical Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot—that was celebrated in 1621 from September 30-October 6, when God’s people gave thanks for the harvest and remembered His protection in the wilderness.
Some historians mistakenly link the Pilgrims’ feast to Michaelmas, a Catholic and Anglican celebration honoring the archangel Michael on September 29. But the Pilgrims were Separatists who rejected man-made holy days, saints’ feasts, and church calendars altogether. They honored only the Sabbath and those occasions ordained by Scripture. Michaelmas, part of the English quarter days, was foreign to their theology. Their thanksgiving was not born of ecclesiastical tradition but divine gratitude. It was an act of worship, an outpouring of thanks for providence, protection, and partnership with their native allies. The Pilgrims were well aware of the Feast of Tabernacles, commanded in Leviticus 23, called God’s people to dwell in booths for seven days, rejoicing at the end of harvest for God’s provision and covering.
The Pilgrims, still living in fragile shelters and surrounded by uncertainty, saw themselves in that same pattern—as sojourners under God’s hand. As Bradford wrote of his fellow sojourners, “May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness, but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice.” Their celebration was not ritual but revelation: they had endured the wilderness, gathered their crops, and tasted the sweetness of survival. Just as Israel once rejoiced before the Lord, so too did these humble settlers and their Wampanoag friends. They were, in every sense, celebrating Sukkot in spirit and truth.
The command in Exodus 20:8 to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” and in Leviticus 23:42–43 to “dwell in booths… that your generations may know” informed their steadfast faith. The Pilgrims saw God’s hand in every seed, storm, and sunrise. Their thanksgiving was not for abundance alone but for covenant promise—God’s faithfulness in the wilderness. The first Thanksgiving was not a European feast day but a biblical one. Whether by design or divine timing, it fell in the same season as Sukkot, a shared celebration of provision, peace, and presence. Beneath rough shelters and autumn skies, the Pilgrims and their guests dwelt together under the mercy of Almighty God. Chris and I, like grandfather Bradford before us, keep the Sabbath and celebrate the feasts, not out of tradition, but in obedience. May you have a blessed day!
Sources:
- William Bradford,Of Plymouth Plantation — Massachusetts Archives
- Edward Winslow,Mourt’s Relation — com
- Pilgrim Hall Museum Archives —Pilgrim Hall Museum
- Plimoth Patuxet Museums, “Thanksgiving: Historical Perspectives” —org
- “Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)” —org
