According to history, the holiday we recognize as Thanksgiving was first celebrated in 1621 in a settlement named Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. This settlement, which was named by Mayflower Captain John Smith, is the place where a group of European immigrants, or pilgrims, began their struggle in a still young America. History states this group of settlers was met and taught by a group of non-hostile Indians to grow and cultivate native vegetation, such as corn, barley, pumpkins and peas.

After their first successful harvest, they met to celebrate with a feast of deer, water fowl, wild turkey and vegetables. If history is correct, 2009 marks the 388th year since the first celebration of Thanksgiving. It would be an understatement to say conditions back then for that group of new Americans was different from our society today.

In my article a year ago, I outlined the ABC’s of Thanksgiving we might appreciate today. In comparison, the ABC’s for the pilgrims would have had a few things in common, but many other things we now take for granted.

Beginning the alphabet with A, I am sure if they were available the pilgrims would have appreciated apples as we do today. Acceptance and advancement in the form of survival would then as they are now be common goals.

B is for books. Books for the pilgrims, including the Bible, were probably few in number, but very cherished items.

The letter C would represent the children of the early settlers, which gave them hope as they still do for us today.

The letter D would represent a new day for them and us as we live our lives.

E would have stood for energy, as well as an important food item: eggs.

The letter F for America’s early settlers could have stood for furniture, food, fuel, family and possibly fun if they had time from their hard toil to enjoy any.

The letter G then, as it does now, could stand for grandchildren, grain and graciousness. Those items and traits were as important then as they are now.

The letter H for the pilgrims of Massachusetts would probably have stood for heat, housing, home and health. These are items and conditions are still important after 388 years.

The letter I covers a wide spectrum of life, such as inventions, initiative, ingenuity and infants are still the backbone of life itself.

The letter J for the pilgrims could have represented joy at being free in a new land.

The letter K should always have represented the important trait of kindness.

For the letter L, love, laughter and living life to its fullness.

For the letter M, morning quietness was probably common for the pilgrims in their new environment. Mothers and music were hopefully always present in times of need.

The letter N stands for nature, which has always confronted man on a daily basis.

The letter O stands for opportunity. The pilgrims had an opportunity to make their lives better, and they took a chance and made a sacrifice to make it happen. We in America have many more opportunities in my opinion than those early pilgrims.

We know the letter P stood for pumpkins and pies, which still symbolize Thanksgiving.

The letter Q easily represents quietness, which early settlers could enjoy. Compare that to the noisy every day world we live in. For the pilgrims, Q would have also stood for quilts, which they needed for the severe cold they had to endure.

The letter R represents precious rain.

The letter S represents many positive and meaningful things, such as sunshine, sea shells, stories, seasons and silliness. For our early settlers, S would have been more meaningful to them in the form of shoes and socks.

The letter T can stand for transportation, which we take for granted. For the pilgrims, any type of crude transportation was probably considered a luxury.

The letter U heads up the word unity, which for the pilgrims was the key to their survival. U for understanding then and now is also important.

The letter V is important for the word victory, which was a goal for the pilgrims and us as well.

The letter W would have stood for an abundant supply of fresh and clean water.

The letter X today stands for the important word X-ray, which saves many of our lives. For the pilgrims, their health diagnosis depended on nonscientific but common knowledge.

The letter Y stands for youth and young at heart. There were young pilgrims at the first celebration of Thanksgiving who experienced life differently from the youth of today.

The letter Z stands for zoo, which we can consider a fun outing. For the pilgrims, they experienced the wild and un-captured zoo of Mother Nature.

Three hundred and eighty eight years from the first celebration of Thanksgiving, we as Americans have the opportunity to celebrate this wonderful holiday, which represents abundance, good fortune, good will, peace and family unity.

(Taylor is a Carroll County resident and local forester.)