Forefathers' Day (2)

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http://www.puritanboard.com/f18/forefathers-day-3694/

Forefather's Day is observed annually in Plymouth, Massachusetts (since 1769) on December 21 to commemorate the landing of the Pilgrims.

Forefathers' Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Interesting trivia: for around a century it was observed (due to a calendar mistake) on December 22, before the mistake was corrected and December 21 was observed in Plymouth, although it continues to be observed on December 22 by the Old Colony Club. The OCC historically has made exceptions to this when December 22 falls on the Lord's Day by observing the event on another nearby day of the week.

The Pilgrim John Howland Society - Articles: Forefathers Day, December 21: Our Day

This is the account of the first observance of this day from the OCC website:

On the morning of the said day (Dec. 22, 1769), after discharging a cannon, was hoisted upon the hall [Old Colony Hall, which once stood on Market Street south of the 1749 Court House, was built by Club member John Thomas, and was the place of meeting for the Club] an elegant silk flag, with the following inscription, 'OLD COLONY, 1620'. At eleven o'clock, A. M. the members of the club appeared at the hall, and from thence proceeded to the house of Mr. Howland, inn-holder, which is erected on the spot where the first licensed house in the Old Colony formerly stood [now the site of Fleet Bank on North Street] , at half after two a decent repast was served, which consisted of the following dishes, viz.

1, a large baked Indian whortleberry pudding;
2, a dish of sauquetash;
3, a dish of clams;
4, a dish of oysters and a dish of codfish;
5, a haunch of venison, roasted by the first Jack brought to the colony;
6, a dish of seafowl;
7, a dish of frost fish and eels;
8, an apple pie;
9, a course of cranberry tarts, and cheese made in the Old Colony."

The dinner itself incorporated a number of emblematic elements to emphasize the importance of the event. The food selected was intrinsically native and "...dressed in the plainest manner (all appearance of luxury and extravagance being avoided, in imitation of our ancestors, whose memory we shall ever respect.)" The president sat in a chair that had belonged to Governor William Bradford, and called for a dozen toasts to honor the memory of their ancestors, and to give assent to the need for liberty and prosperity. Among these were toasts to John Carver and the other governors; Nathaniel Morton, Secretary of Plymouth Colony and, until his uncle William Bradford's manuscript `Of Plymouth Plantation' was rediscovered in 1853, the author of the only available history of the colony; Myles Standish; Massasoit;, Deacon Robert Cushman; the union of the Old Colony and Massachusetts; the sentiments against arbitrary power; the downfall of those opposing civil and religious liberty; the deliverance of the colonies from oppression; a lasting union with Britain and prosperity to all the colonies. After the toasts, the evening was spent "recapitulating and conversing upon the many and various advantages of our forefathers in the first settlement of this country, and the growth and increase of the same, — at eleven o'clock in the evening a cannon was again fired, three cheers given, and the club and company withdrew."