The First Thanksgiving Was In Texas, Not Massachusetts

I've been here almost a decade and Texas still has surprises for me.

Today, just days after Thanksgiving, a holiday that Yankees think started when some Pilgrims in Massachusetts put on some funny hats and invited the neighboring Indians over for a dinner to give thanks to all their good fortunes, I learned I've been wrong, for so many years, about the first Thanksgiving.

Apparently, the real First Thanksgiving took place on April 28, 1598, 22 years before the Pilgrims came to shore at Plymouth Rock. On April 28, 1598, a group of Spaniards, led by Spanish explorer Juan de Onate, put on big hats and feasted on the banks of the Rio Grande near what is now El Paso.

The Spaniards had made it through a 350 miles journey from Santa Barbara, Mexico, across the Chihuahuan Desert. so they had reason to be thankful and celebrate. However, no Indians were invited. The Spaniards did not treat the Native Americans very well. Long before the Americans came along. I don't know what the Spaniards ate at their Thanksgiving. I doubt it was turkey. Likely a beef product, it being the Texas Thanksgiving. Probably BBQed turkey.

Now, here is where it gets totally Texas funny. In 1990 the Texas legislature passed a resolution recognizing San Elizario, Texas, on the outskirts of El Paso, as the site of the first true Thanksgiving.

However, I don't recollect us having another Thanksgiving Day, here in Texas, on April 28. It's probably a big holiday here and I just haven't noticed. I can be oblivious at times.