THANKSGIVING DECOR

The first Thanksgiving is believed to have been held in 1621 at Plymouth Rock by the first Pilgrims that arrived one year earlier on he Mayflower. The feast happened in November and was a celebration of the colonist’s first successful corn crop.

Governor William Bradford organized the celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag and their chief Massasoit.  The festival lasted three days. Most of the dished served used Native American spices and cooking methods. 

Thanksgiving celebrations were held at various times throughout the years and were religious celebrations of fasting and thanks for bountiful crops and harvests.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared the national celebration of Thanksgiving to be held the last week of November. Franklin D Roosevelt moved the holiday up one week in an effort to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. He eventually signs a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November. 

Although we cannot be sure, it is also believed four wild turkeys were served at the first Thanksgiving. Hence, the tradition of the Thanksgiving turkey.

The cornucopia is also a part of the Thanksgiving tradition. The horn of plenty represents those bountiful harvests that the celebrate at Thanksgiving.

Corn at Thanksgiving is a staple. Corn was the crop that the Native Americans taught the pilgrims to grow that basically saved their lives during those first cold winters.

The pumpkin has always been a traditional symbol of the harvest fest and still is today. In the past, pumpkins leaves were also used as salads.

Cranberries were originally called crane berries because they resembled a crane. The pilgrims quickly learned how to sweeten the bitter cranberries with maple sugar and another Thanksgiving tradition was born.

When it comes to decorations for Thanksgiving, the Craft Gallery has all the traditional items you could need. New, antique, repurposed and handmade décor you can’t find anywhere else.