November 23, 2009

Kids reenact first Thanksgiving

Kids Reenact The First Thanksgiving With Smallpox Blankets And Whiskey (VIDEO)How did the Pilgrims celebrate the first Thanksgiving? According to these adorable young history buffs, with blankets covered in smallpox. While it may appear that these kids are simply playing dress-up, their reenactment is pretty true-to-life, and includes hilarious depictions of The Pequot and King Philip's War. At the end, the Pilgrims give parting gifts to their Native American friends: whiskey, keys to a pickup truck, and of course, more smallpox.

Comment:  The smallpox-blanket incident didn't happen during the first Thanksgiving in 1621. If it happened at all, it happened during the 1760s. But there's only one letter suggesting the possibility, and no evidence it ever happened.

For more on the subject, see Thanksgiving in After the Mayflower.

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