Although potatoes had been discovered in South America and were being grown in Europe, by 1621, they were still virtually unknown to the average 17th-century Englishman, according to Curtin. She also pointed out that the main meal was eaten midday, not in the later afternoon or evening as we do now.

Before the mid-1800s, the Thanksgiving holiday held mainly in New England wasn't connected to the 1621 feast between the Pilgrims and the Indians, according to Plimoth historians. The Puritans traditionally held special days of fasting followed by festive rejoicing. In 1623 — probably in July — they held a Thanksgiving Day to show gratitude for rain after a drought.

The governor of each colony or state declared a day of thanksgiving each autumn for general blessings, and the colonies also declared a Thanksgiving Day in 1777 to celebrate the American victory over the British at Saratoga. Native Americans always had traditional ceremonies to give thanks for successful harvests and other good fortune.

But in 1841, historian Alexander Young found Edward Winslow's account of the three-day feast between the Indians and the first colonists and labeled it the First Thanksgiving. In 1846, Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book, began campaigning for a nationwide annual Thanksgiving Day, which President Abraham Lincoln declared in 1863.

It's more likely that today's "traditional" dishes actually came from the Civil War and Victorian eras, not from the Pilgrims, according to Laura Schenone, author of a new historical volume, "A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove" (Norton, 2003, $35). She wrote that Lincoln "asked the nation to be thankful for the bounties of nature and to come together, North and South, for a single unifying day. The holiday that Sarah envisioned became an icon of American life."

So maybe historical accuracy of the food isn't as important as the spirit in which its eaten. The idea of sharing food, and gratitude for health, wealth, friends and family, echoes Edward Winslow's parting words written almost 400 years ago: "Yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of plenty."

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STEWED POMPION

4 cups of cooked pumpkin or squash, roughly mashed

3 tablespoons butter

2 to 3 teaspoons cider vinegar

1 to 2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir and heat all the ingredients together. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve hot. — "1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving," by National Geographic

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AUTUMN VENISON SOBAHEG

The original recipe doesn't mention salt, but you may want to add 1 1/2 teaspoons to suit modern-day palates.