Virginia versus Massachusetts: Who Held the First Thanksgiving?

Name: Reduce Stress & Stay Healthy With Zumba Fitness
Start: 2025-12-09T12:00:00-06:00
End: 2025-12-09T12:45:00-06:00
Location: Zoom

Tuesday, Nov 18, 2025

1:00 p.m. ET • 12:00 p.m. CT • 11:00 a.m. MT • 10:00 a.m. PT

Duration: 60 Minutes

Zoom - Free Online Event

For questions, contact AARP Virginia at aarpva@aarp.org

This event is full.

Trace Thanksgiving’s roots—from Native harvests to Spanish, English and Pilgrim feasts—and how regional traditions became a national holiday through presidential proclamations.

About the Event

Most agricultural societies developed prayers of thanks as well as ceremonies to celebrate harvests and other special occasions, so what do we mean when we ask, “who held the first Thanksgiving?”

Join Maggie Creech, director of history education at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture for a program examining the origin of the holiday—including Native American harvest ceremonies to the competing claims of who had “the first,” ranging from the Spanish in Florida to the English in Virginia and, of course, the Pilgrims at Plimoth (Plymouth) Plantation.

From the proclamations of George Washington to Abraham Lincoln establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday, we’ll look at how various traditions that were often regional in nature coalesced to form the holiday now celebrated throughout the United States.

How to Join

Sign in to your aarp.org account or create a free nonmember account to register for events. AARP membership is not required. You will receive an email with the Zoom link before the session. 

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