The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 by about 40 pilgrims and 89 Native Americans. It probably wasn't an original idea but had roots in a Dutch harvest celebration (remember, the Separatists had lived in Holland for almost a generation before settling Plymouth). The food consumed probably would have included: geese, ducks, turkey, lobsters, oysters, clams, venison, corn (roasted, parched or soaked in maple syrup), cornmeal, johnnycakes (sort of cornmeal pancakes), beans, and squash.
A note on lobsters: In 1630 a colonist wrote: "The least boy in the Plantation may both catch and eat what he will of them." Bradford throughout his journal, however, will at times lament that lobsters were all the colonists had to eat. Of course, Bradford probably held to the Old Testament belief that shellfish are unclean, but it his comments are pretty ironic in light of the price we pay for lobster today!
Hunting: The opportunities for hunting amazed the colonists. In England only the rich were allowed to hunt, so the colonists had to be taught. There was so much hunting, however, that within a century some breeds were already becoming extinct. Much of the game meat was very tough, so slow-cooking "crock-pot" dishes were developed.
Alcohol: It was a staple beverage, even among the Puritans and Separatists. They often drank rum, brandy, and cider, even before breakfast. Even children drank it mixed with water. It was believed necessary to add alcohol to water to disinfect it; and it also was believed that alcohol prevented malaria.
A rhyme "said to have been composed during the early years of the Plymouth Colony:"
