Everyone can picture the iconic, illustrated images of the meal between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims back in 1621 at Plymouth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
But where did the history behind the images come from?
"In 1839, a pamphlet written by one of the Mayflower passengers was rediscovered and printed," Richard Pickering explained.
Pickering is the deputy executive director of Plymouth Plantation. He says the first Thanksgiving was probably very different than what Americans do on Thanksgiving day, and back then, it wasn't just one day.
"Three days of feasting and sports and military exercises," he said.
In a letter written by Edward Winslow in the fall of 1621, Winslow describes a fall harvest event among the Pilgrims and the Native Americans.
"There was just abundance of of waterfowl and wild fowl and fish," he Pickering explained. "It was a blowout."
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Kathy Rudder is a food historian at Plymouth Plantation. She says much like today, food was a critical part of the first Thanksgiving.
"We know there were at least 90 Native Americans there in addition to the colonists in town and they had deer and they had fowl. And the feasting and singing and dancing last three days," Rudder said.
They also ate a variation of corn similar to ours called Indian corn, in addition to bread and other treats.
