That First Christmas

Linda Burton posting from Tallahassee, Florida – The big story near the end of November every year is the story of a feast. It’s called the “First Thanksgiving in America” and depicts Pilgrims and Indians gathered around a table, celebrating a bountiful harvest. The focus, often presented by kids in tall hats on a school-play stage, is gratitude and cooperation. The Pilgrims came in peace, to settle in a new country, but didn’t know diddly squat about surviving in their new surroundings. The equally peaceful Indians gave them a hand, showing them how to drop a dollop of fish into the hole before planting the seeds of native corn and squash, provided by said Indians. The fish was good fertilizer; the crops grew bounteously; and harvest time was a time for feasting together, in peace. It’s a great story, or legend; it’s the way we like to think of the settling of what became the United States. Less fuss is made over the “First Christmas in America” however, at least, what likely was the first Christmas; it happened within a mile of Florida’s state capitol building in present-day Tallahassee. Go back to 1539, and imagine Spaniard Hernando de Soto, and his winter encampment there. It is probable that a Christmas Mass was held. But don’t conjure up images of a joyful celebration with the neighboring Apalachee Indians, for de Soto did not come in peace. » read more