As we prepare for Thanksgiving today, we gather to celebrate all of the blessings in our lives with family and friends. It’s a tradition you’ve celebrated your whole life, but did you know that there’s a different version of the First Thanksgiving you might not have heard before?

Everyone knows the story of the First Thanksgiving, when the Pilgrims feasted with local Native Americans in Plymouth in 1621.
Wikimedia Commons
The colonists were celebrating their first harvest in their new home. The tradition was first celebrated nationally in 1789 and became a federal holiday in 1869. Did you know that this was far from the first Thanksgiving celebration in America?
Flickr/Matthew Paulson

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More than 50 years before the famous feast at Plymouth, in 1565, the Spanish settlers in St. Augustine hosted the first Thanksgiving service and meal with local Native American tribes.
Flickr/Steven Martin
This isn't that surprising, considering that St. Augustine is our nation's oldest city. Though the meal was no feast, as there had been no harvest yet, this was still the first celebration giving thanks in America.
Flickr/Steven Martin

Pretty neat, right? Now you have an interesting piece of trivia for out-of-town guests today. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

 

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