As Summer fades to Fall, we often hear new converts asking a familiar question: "What about Thanksgiving? Is it pagan too?" Simply seeking to worship the Father "in Spirit and Truth" (Yahu./John 4:23-24), many wonder if this National Holiday festival is also forbidden by Scripture after learning the less than savory origins of other popular Christian holidays such as Valentine's, Easter, Christmas and Halloween. While it is easy for some to simply throw the proverbial "baby" out with the "dirty bathwater", others struggle to let go of certain traditions, no matter how dirty. Therefore, if the "baby" can be saved, then they'd surely prefer to keep it, and nurture it!
So that begs the question. Is Thanksgiving pagan? Well, it depends on who you ask. Many arguments come to mind. Of course, we are a lot like Paul in that we are convinced nothing of itself is "common": all things are either sinful, or acceptable in the sight of Yah, we also still realize we are individually held responsible to our current level of perspective, understanding and conviction.
"Therefore let us not judge one another any longer, but rather judge this,
not to put an obstacle or a stumbling-block in our brother’s way.
I know and am persuaded in the Master יהושע that none at all is common of itself.
But to him who regards whatever to be common, to him it is common."-Romans 14:1-2
So, to really find out if Thanksgiving is actually forbidden by Scripture, let's explore what different perspectives Believers often hold and compare them with what the Scriptures say regarding the beliefs and "traditions of man" (and whether or not they are always Acceptable, always Unrighteous or sometimes either).
Differing Perspectives
Some are convinced Believers should not observe the American Thanksgiving holiday (or its Canadian counterpart) primarily because they are "inherently pagan". They might believe this to be the case for a few different reasons.
Perspective #1: "Do not Adopt Gentile Customs to Worship the Father and Son" -Deut. 12:4
"Since some gentile cultures once, or currently, observe Autumnal harvest festivals, and we are never commanded anywhere in the "Torah" (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) Thanksgiving must be modeled a pagan custom just like many other holidays we know are modeled after their known predecessors."
While the logic does seem to check out at face value, we have to be careful to make assumptions about a particular case and "paint with too wide of a brush" but instead truly "test all things". We can't "righteously judge a matter", if we don't do the real legwork to investigate the matter fully. Just because some gentile cultures observed seasonal harvest festivals, does not necessarily mean another sect, culture, or country has adopted one of those particular customs for their own purposes.
If that were always the case, we'd have to assume the First Fruits, Shavuot and Sukkoth festivals are also "inherently pagan" (as many cultures were found observing Spring and Autumnal Festivals well before "The Torah" was ever given at Mt. Sinai). The Creator of Heaven and Earth called His People to offer those specific tithes after the regular harvest seasons to set apart their bounty and cover their uncleanness. Quite the opposite of "pagan". So, we know these particular Scriptural harvest festivals are in no way related to the other gentile harvest festivals, therefore just because a gentile culture celebrates certain similar customs, doesn't necessarily mean other cultures adopt those particular practices when they celebrate a similar purpose in a similar way.
Perspective #2: "Do Not Add or Take Away from the Word" -Deut. 4:2
"We cannot make up on our own holidays on which to worship the Father. If it isn't Commanded in the Hebrew Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, Numbers),
it is adding to the Word, therefore pagan in origin."
While it is true we are commanded to "not add to the Word" by requiring ordinances, customs, traditions or Festivals which He does not require us to observe, it is not true all the Scripturally required Ordinances are only outlined in Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Leviticus and Numbers. Many other Books of Inspired Scripture also include Instructions and Commands of the Father not previously stated in these particular Books. While some of those Commands include an explicit "change of law and priesthood (Heb. 7:12 & ch. 10)", some Inspired Books include the Commands to observe certain Set Apart Festivals of Yah which were not yet required at the time of the First Exodus (such as the Festival of Lots in the Book of Esther, and the Festival of Dedication and Nicanor in the Books of the Maccabees).
Regardless, Thanksgiving is not a Festival understood to be "Commanded by Scripture" or Inspired by the Set Apart Spirit. The US and Canadian Thanksgiving holidays have always been accepted as purely man-made tradition, albeit originally as a desire by certain Believers to worship the Father for His providence, still it is not understood to be Scripturally required. Unless someone erroneously believes or teaches others a man-made traditional holiday such as Thanksgiving is required by the Word or replaces a Scriptural Festival, then they are not necessarily "adding to the Word", nor is it necessarily pagan for this reason alone.
Perspective #3: All Man-Made Traditions are Useless -Yarm./Jer. 10:3 & Matt. 15:8-9
"Even if a Jewish or Christian custom is not based on a pagan custom, His People still aren't authorized to make up their own customs or festivals to worship the Father."
This perspective interprets certain passages to mean all customs and traditions not explicitly required by Scripture to be "worthless" to the Father in Heaven and some even say, "received as abominations" before Him. But do the Scriptures really say we aren't ever allowed to make up our own man-made customs, traditions, festivals or "holidays" in which we rest from work, worship Him, commemorate events, or gather to fast or feast? Or is this just a statement we've heard said over and over so often it becomes accepted as fact? While there are certainly many examples of certain customs and holidays being condemned in Scripture (such as those adopted from pagan origin, or those which include practices which generally transgress His Covenant), let's test this doctrine to find out if all customs are always condemned, or if there are certain allowances for man-made traditions to not be considered "pagan" or "unclean" and "acceptable" in the sight of the Father (even if it isn't explicitly commanded in the Torah of Moses or the rest of the Inspired Text).
Is it the Tradition or the Requirement of the Tradition that is the problem?
"And the Pharisees and some of the scribes assembled to Him, having come from Yarushalam. And seeing some of His taught ones "eat bread with defiled", that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Yahudym, do not eat unless they wash their hands thoroughly, holding fast the tradition of the elders, and coming from the market-place, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions which they have received and hold fast – the washing of cups and utensils and copper vessels and couches. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your taught ones not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” And He answering, said to them, “Well did Yashayahu prophesy concerning you hypocrites, as it has been Written, ‘This people respect Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commands of men.’ Forsaking the command of Alahym, you hold fast the tradition of men.” And He said to them, “Well do you set aside the command of Alahym, in order to observe your tradition." -Mark 7:1-9
In this case, the Messiah explained it was not the custom of washing (or not washing) which considered sinful, but the Pharisees and Scribes who were hypocrites for condemning His disciples supposedly breaking the torah while they themselves actually were breaking torah by "adding to the torah" by requiring others to practice the custom of washing along with many other man-made laws. Therefore, it was simply because they took it upon themselves to require a man-made command, elevate it to the level of the Divine Law, and finally condemn others for not observing their tradition that they were rebuked. Had their man-made tradition actually been required by Scripture or Inspired by the Father, and not transgress His Covenant, then they would not have been rebuked for observing their man-made tradition. Many Believers wash their hands, utensils and dishes before eating even in our generation, but they don't transgress His Covenant by enforcing others to accept this as a spiritual ritual required for Salvation. There is a major difference between secular or religious customs and reinterpreting Scripture to state what we are personally convinced or convicted to do.
"But you, stay in what you have learned and trusted, having known from whom you have learned, and that from a babe you have known the Set Apart Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for Deliverance through Belief in Messiah יהושע. All Scripture is breathed by Alahym and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness (torah), that the man of Alahym might be fitted, equipped for every good work."
-2 Timothy 3:14-17
As 2 Timothy says, all Scripture is "breathed by Alahym" (not man) to teach us the Way of Salvation. Also vice versa, if any religious leader takes it upon themselves to nullify a Scriptural Command of the Father so they can start a man-made tradition, then it would be sinful to disobey the torah to observe that man-made tradition. Secondly, just because a command is expressed in the "Oral Law" or "Talmud", as the "ancient/proper interpretation" on how to apply certain laws found in Word, doesn't mean it is actually is the proper way to interpret that particular Ordinance. After all, the authors of the Talmud were all Unbelieving Yahudym (Jews) who rejected the Messiah, lacked the Set Apart Spirit and therefore forfeited a personal relationship with the Father in Heaven, and also who were the descendants of these same Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes often rebuked by Messiah for being completely wrong in their interpretation and application of the torah. The Messiah encouraged us to follow the Scriptures which they read out loud in the Synagogues, but not to follow their example in walking it out, as their misinterpretation actually leads us away from finding Salvation.
"Then יהושע spoke to the crowds and to His taught ones, saying, “The Scribes and the Pharisees sit on the Seat of Mashah. Therefore, whatever they say to you to guard, guard and do. But do not do according to their works, for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders, but with their finger they do not wish to move them. And they do all their works to be seen by men, and they make their t’fillen wide and lengthen the tzitzits of their garments, and they love the best place at Feasts, and the best seats in the Congregations, and the Greetings in the market-places, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi,’ for One is your Teacher, the Messiah, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father, for One is your Father, He Who is in the Heavens. Neither be called leaders, for One is your Leader, the Messiah. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. But woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven before men, for you do not go in, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in." -MathathYahu/Matthew 23: 12
Thirdly, the passage in 2 Timothy 3 reveals just because a custom isn't Written in the "Pentateuch" or "Torah of Moses" doesn't necessarily mean it isn't a Righteous command or custom, or automatically "adding to torah". The passage includes "All of Scripture" (which includes the entire Old Testament Inspired Canon accepted by the Messiah and His Disciples in the First Century including many Books which recent scholars now consider to be the "Apocrypha" or "Pseudepigrapha") and the entire Inspired New Testament which is all Inspired by the Set Apart Spirit, even if it did not all yet exist at the time the 2nd Letter to Timothy was Written. Those Divinely Inspired Books include certain passages which command the observation of certain Festivals which were not yet included in the "Torah of Moses" at the time it was Written. For instance:
1) The 4 New Moon Festivals is required in Jubilees which was also Written by Moses
2) The Festivals of New Wine, New Oil, and New Wood Gathering is required in Jubilees and referred to throughout Scripture
3) The Festival of Lots is required in Esther
4) The Festival of Dedication is required in the Books of the Maccabees
5) The Festival of Nicanor is required in the Books of the Maccabees
However, there were also other examples of Righteous men simply making up their own man-made customs and Festivals by which to honor the Father and were allowed to do because they did not take it upon themselves to require them without the Father Inspiring them to do so, nor did they model them after how pagans worshipped their deities. For instance:
1) The Four Fasts (ZacharYah/Zechariah 7-8): In the 6th Century BC, it was customary for all Hebrews to observe four days a year as a fast in Memorial of the events leading to the destruction of the 1st Temple and City of Yasharal. Although, the Father in Heaven did not Command or Inspire this man-made tradition, it did go on for about 70 years.
Ninth Day of the Fourth Month (Jere. 52:6-7): memorial of the capture of Yarushalam by the Chaldeans
Seventh Day of the Fifth Month (Jere. 52:12-14, 2 Kings 25:8-10): in memorial of the burning of the Temple and City
Third Day of the Seventh Month (Jere. 41:1-3, 15-19 & 2 Kings 25:25–26): in memorial of the slaying of Gedaliah (although the events memorialized happened on the First Day of the Seventh Month, it was more often observed on the Third Day as to not Fast during the Feast of Trumpets)
Tenth Day of the Tenth Month (Jere. 52:4-5, 2 Kings 25:8, 9, Ezekiel 24:1-2): memorial of the beginning of the Siege of Yarushalam by Nebuchadnezzar
Later, when ZacharYah asked the Father if He desired him to once again participate in the custom of fasting since the Temple was almost finished being rebuilt (Ezra 6:15), and they were once again allowed to return to the Land, He reminds him the People started the tradition out of their own desire to mourn their losses (not because He commanded them to worship Him during those days). However, instead of condemning the practice itself, He told him there would be no more reason to mourn. He commands them to turn their man-made Fasts of Mourning into Appointed Times as Feasts of Joy, especially during the Age of the New Covenant.
“Thus said יהוה of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth months, are to be joy and gladness, and pleasant Feasts for the House of Yahudah – and they shall love the Truth and the Peace.’" -ZacharYah/Zechariah 8:19
2) The Four Cups of Wine During Passover (Luke 22, 1 Corin. 10): By the First Century AD, many Hebrews observed a tradition of drinking four cups of juice or wine during their Passover dinner. Although this custom was not required by Torah, we see the Messiah and His disciples partaking of this particular tradition throughout the descriptions of His Passover Dinner in the Four Synoptic Gospels. He even uses this man-made custom of drinking juice and wine at Passover to replace the requirement to sacrifice Passover lambs as the new symbol of His Blood fulfilling the need for Atonement forever during the Age of the New Covenant.
3) Many verses of the New Testament reveal the traditions of the Appointed Disciples of Messiah are based on the Teachings and Example of Messiah because of a "change of law and priesthood (Heb. 7:12)" made available through His Ministry, Death and Resurrection. So, although they may not always be required by the Torah of Moses, those traditions or customs are what we are to follow. For example, no where in torah are married women required to wear a symbol of their husband's authority while praying or prophesying publicly, yet this is encouraged by Inspired Scripture which is "Breathed by Alahym" and "good for instruction and reproof".
"So, then, brothers, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by Word or by our Letter." -2 Thessalonians 2:15
"Become imitators of me, as I also am of Messiah, and I praise you, brothers, that you remember me in every way and keep the traditions as I delivered them to you." -1 Corinthians 11:1-2
"And we trust in the Master as to you, both that you do and shall do what we command you.
And the Master direct your hearts into the love of Alahym and into the endurance for Messiah. But we command you, brothers, in the Name of our Master יהושע Messiah, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which you received from us." -2 Thessalonians 3:4-6
Therefore, let us remember that although they may not be commanded in Scripture, all man-made customs are not always futile, abominable, or pagan. Although they may not be necessary or even preferred by the Father, some may still be permissible, or even good for our "reproof and instruction in Righteousness". In every case, each needs to be considered in context of the true origins and purposes as they compare with all of Scripture.
The Memorial of the Modern Thanksgiving
Now that we know some man-made customs can be good for our growth as Believers, or at minimum authorized by the Father, what are the true origins of Thanksgiving? What do Americans believe they are celebrating when they observe this tradition? Are they really celebrating a "pagan festival adopted from Native Americans" or even "the death and destruction of the Native Americans who were conquered and colonized" as some say? Let's consider some relevant historical records to uncover the real history of this festival.
"Thanksgiving Day, annual national holiday in the United States and Canada celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. Americans generally believe that their Thanksgiving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag People." -Brittanica Encyclopedia
But what led to these "Puritan Separatist Pilgrims" celebrating this feast our culture now celebrates in Memorial? To understand, we must consider the purpose of their journey which led to their eventual "feast". Although the Roman Catholic Inquisition had just recently caused such great death and destruction to those convicted to observe the customs and doctrines of the Inspired Text throughout the Protestant Reformation Movement, there were still three main Protestant groups left in England at that time: The Conformists (which followed the Church of England), The Puritans (which were opposed to many of the teachings of the Church of England, but usually kept Sunday as the Sabbath), and the Separatists (which was started by Robert Browne and kept many of the Old Testament Laws like the 7th Day Sabbath). Although the English Crown was officially declared as the Christian Church's Authority by 1534 (therefore, freeing the Brits from direct persecution of the Pope's ongoing Inquisition), the two latter groups were still forced to flee from Europe to avoid persecution under Queen Elizabeth's 1559 Act of Uniformity. Sadly, Queen Elizabeth sought to unite her kingdom in a similar fashion as Constantine the Great of the early 300s. Just the same, Queen Elizabeth's new brand of "Christianity" established a middle-ground amongst the extremist views in her nation (requiring the observation of many Roman Catholic doctrines and rituals, yet reshaping the official Church Doctrine, this time as uniquely Anglican). Under this Act of Uniformity, all of Britain was required to observe the church services Ordained by the Church of England. A 12 pence fine (about 3 days wages) was issued for each missed Sunday or Anglican Church holiday. However, many of these Believers felt convicted to observe the Seventh Day Sabbath and avoid celebrating Christmas which they understood to be a pagan holiday. Furthermore, any citizen found observing a Roman Catholic Mass, or any other Unofficial Service by alternative Protestant groups required larger fines or even imprisonment. For these reasons, many Believers were imprisoned and impoverished as they attempted to resist the pressure of the Anglican Church to follow their own convictions in observing the Commands outlined in Scripture. Eventually, many of them were forced out of Britain into the Netherlands and Holland where they were free of government persecution to establish their Congregations as they felt led. However, to work and live in this new land, they had to learn a new language and new customs. They also became concerned about how their children were growing up influenced by their integration into Dutch Society. After 12 years, they made the difficult decision to leave everything once again, and sail to the New World, where they could worship the Father in Heaven to the best of their convictions and develop a Bible-based culture uninfluenced by the pagan customs of the Roman Catholic Church, English Church, or Dutch world.
However, their journey to establishing a new home was not an easy one. In the 1600s, the ocean was full of dangers. Ships could be attacked and taken over by pirates or become shipwrecked by storms. Passengers sometimes fell overboard and drowned or got sick and died. To afford and survive the journey and difficult process of starting a new home would require sailing and starting a community with those they would otherwise not normally choose to, thus leading to the Mayflower Compact as an established agreement among those willing to take the great risk. The Pilgrims originally sailed from the Netherlands back to England on a ship called the Speedwell. In England, they joined other passengers before leaving for the long trip to North America on the Speedwell and the Mayflower. However, because early in their journey one ship began to take on water, all passengers had to board a now overcrowded Mayflower which required a further delay in their departure. In 1620, the Mayflower set sail to bring 102 men, women, and children from England to North America. On board the ship were now two groups, religious Separatists who called themselves the “Saints,” and many individuals whom the Saints deemed “Strangers." Each group had different motivations for immigrating to North America. Although the Separatists desired to flee religious persecution, the Strangers immigrated for a variety of reasons including adventure, a chance to escape the poor economic conditions in England, and the possibility to create wealth in the new colonies. However, just as the Word says, "the rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt. 5:44-45)", and instead of crossing the ocean in June, they were forced to battle the storms and cold of late fall. Worse still, to avoid pirates the ship sailed on a longer northern path across the Atlantic to avoid them. At one point in the journey, the ship was caught in a storm which cracked one of the massive wooden beams supporting the frame of the ship. Fortunately, they were able to make the repair and continued their voyage. However, this storm pushed them about 500 miles off course and after more than two months (66 days) at sea, the Pilgrims finally arrived at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620. This late arrival left them with little food and resources entering a foreign land with little time to secure shelter and sustenance while the bitter cold of winter approached. Upon arrival, the decision was made to sail up the coast to Plymouth and begin building their town where a group of Wampanoag People once lived before. During this time, they were forced to live on the ship for a few more months, rowing ashore to build houses during the day, and returning to the ship at night. Many people fell sick from working such hard labor during the cold and the wet winter months as they were so malnourished. Throughout those two months, many fell to “general sickness” of colds, coughs and fevers. By the end of that first Winter, only 50 of the original 102 passengers had survived.
“We can’t imagine what it was like for them to arrive in a brutally cold and strange place, to be sick and to have loved ones dying,” says Beiler. “And remember, they had no time to rest. They had to immediately start building a community so they could survive... They weren’t thinking about colonizing, they were simply figuring out how to eat and stay warm in this new place.”
-UCF Associate Professor of History Rosalind Beiler.
Testimonies of the First Feast
Some first-person accounts of the Modern American's Thanksgiving Memorial of the 1621 Plymouth Feast are found in the writings of those who led their fellow "Pilgrims" to a place free of religious persecution in Europe through their dangerous Voyage on the Mayflower. For instance, one description is found in the writings of William Bradford, an English Puritan Separatist originally from the West Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England who fled to Leiden in Holland to escape persecution from King James I of England, and then emigrated to the Plymouth Colony on the Mayflower in 1620 along with Edward Winslow a fellow "Separatist" to further escape persecution for their faith. The Writings show the English settlers found what they probably considered a blessing from the Father: an area of cleared land suitable for a village. Actually, it had already been a village known as Pautuxet. From 1616-19, an epidemic killed about 2,000 Wampanoag People who lived there. But when the Pilgrims arrived in November 1620, Tisquantum (Squanto) was the only one lone survivor in the village. However, Squanto didn't attack them, nor shun them. He showed them compassion and empathy, helping them learn how to grow food for themselves and make peace with their Native neighbors so they could trade and survive. He explained to them their customs which were not pagan, but Hebrew-based as many historical records like James Adair's Book called "History of the American Indians" undoubtedly prove most North American Tribes were actually some of the Lost Tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Yasharal, unlike the Southern American Tribes which were primarily descendants from Aztec, Mayan and Incan sun-god worshippers.
William Bradford, Puritan Separatist Signatory to the Mayflower Compact and
often served as Governor of the Plymouth Colony between 1621 and 1657:
"They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to the proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports."
-William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647
Edward Winslow (A Separatist Leader on the Mayflower and Mayflower Compact Signatory, Diplomat and Governor of Plymouth Colony):
"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labor. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which we brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
-Dwight B. Heath, Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth
Therefore, this Feast of 1621 was not based on celebrating the decimation of the Native Americans, nor participation in a pagan Native American Festival, nor a Festival described by Believers as "Scripturally required", but a genuine desire to gather with their community to celebrate their survival of a toilsome journey across the sea and harsh winter on the land, while mourning the loss of about half of their company for a chance to thrive in a land free from religious persecution. In kind, I fail to see any Scriptural reason Believers would be forbidden from observing this Western national holiday by torah. However, we encourage others to "let each be fully convinced in his own mind". If a person personally feels convicted not to partake, it would be wrong for another Believer to pressure them to transgress their conscience. However, for those who believe this custom does not actually transgress the Covenant, then they would be free to join the festivities, if they so choose. They should not be condemned by those who feel convicted otherwise, as Scripture does not actually give any prohibition against doing so.
"For it has been Written, “As I live, says יהוה, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to Alahym.” Each one of us, therefore, shall give account of himself to Elohim. Therefore let us not judge one another any longer, but rather judge this, not to put an obstacle or a stumbling-block in our brother’s way. I know and am persuaded in the Master יהושע that none at all is common of itself. But to him who regards whatever to be common, to him it is common. And if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not by your food ruin the one for whom Messiah died. Do not then allow your good to be spoken of as evil. For the reign of Alahym is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Set Apart Spirit. For he who is serving Messiah in these matters is well-pleasing to Alahym and approved by men. So, then, let us pursue the matters of peace and the matters for building up one another. Do not destroy the work of Alahym for the sake of food. All indeed are clean, but evil to that man who eats so as to cause stumbling. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine, nor to do whatever by which your brother stumbles. Do you have Belief? Have it to yourself before Alahym. Blessed is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts, if he eats, is condemned, because it is not of Belief, and all that is not of Belief is sin."
-Romans 14:11-23
Therefore, for those who do not feel this feast transgresses their consciences, and choose to participate in Memorializing the 1621 Feast as a Thanksgiving Feast reminiscing about how our brothers and sisters fought valiantly for a place of safety to observe the commands to the best of their understanding and laying the ground work for those who are now several centuries later so passionately returning to seeking that "Ancient Path of Righteousness" in a land free from persecution:
“But Thanks be to Yah who always leads us on, to overcome in Messiah, and manifests through us the fragrance of His Knowledge in every place. Because we are the fragrance of Messiah to Yah among those who are being saved, and among those who are perishing.”
-2 Corinthians 2:14-15
If you're interested in learning more about this historical accounts, consider watching these docufilms which tell the story of the persecution of the Remnant:
"Lamp in the Dark: the Untold History of the Bible" and "Saints and Strangers" by National Geographic (although the first thirty minutes or so has some very harsh language by the "Strangers" involved), the film brings this account to life as it is very much based on actual historical records, and interviews of the Tribes involved for which our Modern tradition Memorializes to this day.