Where was the first Thanksgiving?
Where was the first Thanksgiving celebration in the New World?
Near Thanksgiving in 2017, the Herald ran a story concerning Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and a Thanksgiving celebration in 1535, 85 years before the traditional Plymouth Rock Thanksgiving event in 1620. Since then, a couple more Texas Thankgsivings have come to light as potential first Turkey Days.
Of course, we're all familiar with the 1620 story. After the Puritan Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, they had a good harvest of wheat and corn and barley, and hunters brought back fowl – possibly wild turkeys. About 80 Native Americans, including their Chief Massasoit, were attracted by the sound of the hunters' guns and visited the colony, where they were entertained and feasted. The natives brought five deer to the feast. The Pilgrims gave thanks to God for their bounty and peaceful relationship with the Indians.
Just southeast of El Paso, is the small town of San Elizario, Texas, another candidate for First Thanksgiving. According to that tale, Juan de Oñate's father owned rich mines in Zacatecas, Mexico. Oñate had also opened mines in San Luis Potosí, but wanted to make his mark by leading an expedition into unexplored territory.
The Spanish governor of Mexico granted him land along the northern Rio Grande among the Pueblo Indians. In 1598, he led his expedition, consisting of 500 people including soldiers and colonists and their wives and children, plus 7,000 head of livestock, north into the Chihuahuan
Desert. The group faced many challenges, starting with a week-long rain storm followed by extended dry weather. Finally, five days short of their goal, the expedition ran out of food and water.
After suffering dehydration and heat exhaustion, the group finally reached the Rio Grande, where four horses died in their efforts to get to the water.
After recuperating for 10 days, Oñate ordered a Thanksgiving feast. The Spanish hunted game and local Indians provided fish for the event. Franciscan missionaries read Catholic Mass, and Oñate declared that the land drained by the Rio