Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving. On this special day, families come together to give thanks for their blessings, and immigrant families express gratitude for prosperity and freedom, particularly religious freedom. However, what many Hispanics and Americans in general do not know is that Thanksgiving was celebrated 56 years before Plymouth Rock, in St. Augustine, Florida. The oldest city in the United States was the site of the first mass.

On September 8, 1565, Pedro Menéndez celebrated a mass with the indigenous Timucua tribe, after which they shared a banquet. But they weren’t the only ones. In fact, Oñate, an expeditionary who crossed from Mexico City into Texas, also shared a feast with the local indigenous population.

Furthermore, Squanto, who was at Plymouth Rock, was a Catholic baptized by the Jesuits. He taught the settlers how to obtain food and how to celebrate. Thus, Hispanic and Catholic roots in the United States are so deep that they started traditions.