Final answer:
The first Thanksgiving in the United States was in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in September or October 1621, involving the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people. They celebrated their first harvest with foods like venison and beer, without modern Thanksgiving staples or eating utensils.
Step-by-step explanation:
The First Thanksgiving in America
The first Thanksgiving celebrated in what is now the United States was held in September or October of 1621. This event took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts, involving the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people. The Pilgrims had embarked on their journey on the Mayflower, arriving in North America from Plymouth, England, and after surviving their first year with the help of the indigenous people, they celebrated their first harvest. The feast included foods like venison, fish, fowl, and beer but did not feature modern-day staples such as pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce. Utensils were not commonly used, and participants ate mostly with their hands and used knives when needed.
Interestingly, while the traditional U.S. Thanksgiving dinner often features turkey, it is noted that the English settlers who celebrated this harvest had reintroduced the domesticated turkey, which had originated in North America, back into the wild. This is known as the Exchange of Animals, where the turkey was domesticated by Mesoamericans, taken to Europe by the Spanish, and then brought back by English colonists. In a separate event, the English explorer Martin Frobisher held a formal Thanksgiving ceremony in Newfoundland in 1579, which predates the Plymouth feast.