Thanksgiving myths

Thanksgiving is "encrusted in myth," author Nathaniel Philbrick said Tuesday at Brigham Young University. Here are a few of the icons surrounding the American holiday that the Pilgrims themselves might not have recognized:

• Pilgrims — The 102 men, women and children who set out on the Mayflower never knew themselves by this term.

• Thanksgiving — The Pilgrims didn't name their first harvest feast, in 1621, though it did last for days.

• Fourth Thursday in November — Abraham Lincoln designated this to be the national holiday of Thanksgiving; the first Thanksgiving happened in September or October.

• Turkey — About 50 pilgrims and 100 Native Americans ate ducks and geese together; there is no record of turkey being part of the first Thanksgiving.

• Tables — The Indians and Pilgrims stood, squatted or sat on the ground around fires. "It was more like Woodstock than the image that has come down to us," Philbrick said.