The tradition of Thanksgiving took root in the 1600's in the New England colonies, and eventually became a National Holiday in 1863 when Abraham Lincoln designated the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving, though historians have found little reference to large scale Thanksgiving Day celebrations in the early years of the United States, and though the Governor of Pennsylvania announced in 1817 the third Thursday of November to be set aside for Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving celebrations among the Pennsylvania Dutch population was originally shunned altogether because of its origins and their belief that the holiday was a "Yankee" observance. That is not to say that our early Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors did not have a similar type of annual feast every October or November to celebrate good harvests by gathering together over the fresh crops of their hard labor. These Pennsylvania Dutch celebrations were called "Harvest Home."
According to an article written by Erin Negley, as Staff Writer for the Lancaster Daily News, who wrote in an article entitled Before Lancaster County celebrated Thanksgiving, we had 'harvest home,' published November 21st, 2018, Harvest Home celebrations included families going to church and decorating the altars with gourds, pumpkins, and stalks of corn before sharing a communal meal. She further reported that even decorations would be eaten, including butter which had been sculpted, and the menu was not set, rather it would include whatever was plentiful at harvest that year. Another article called "A Pennsylvania Dutch (German) Thanksgiving" on a website called Pennsylvania's Americana Region listed some foods served, such as a soup made from harvest vegetables, cream dried corn, sauerkraut, apple butter, dishes from potatoes and noodles, and sweets; rather than a turkey, a goose may have been served, depending upon what was available.
Over the years, Thanksgiving became more widely celebrated, and integrated into the Pennsylvania Dutch culture as a holiday concurrent to Harvest Home. I spent every Thanksgiving holiday meal at my maternal grandparents' home, and I recall my mom contributing baked corn to the menu, which was my favorite dish. I also recall my paternal grandmother making a really good corn dish. My paternal grandmother passed away years ago at 101 years old, and I am sure she had a few recipes jotted down in a box that I do not have. My mother's recipe she received from her maternal line, and it was not written down, she makes it from memory. I found this recipe in a booklet passed along to me from my maternal grandmother called Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking (traditional Dutch dishes), distributed by Dutchcraft, Inc., which is the closest I can find to what I have watch my mother make.
"LANCASTER COUNTY BAKED CORN- To 1 cup of dried corn (ground in food chopper) pour on 2 cups of hot milk and let stand about an hour. Then add 2 beaten eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt to taste. Bake 1/2 hour in over of 350 to 360 degrees."
by Gretchen Swank; 11/25/2022
References: A Pennsylvania Dutch (German) Thanksgiving. (2022). Visit PA Americana. https://www.visitpaamericana.com/americana/pa-dutch-german-thanksgiving/#:~:text=It%20have%20been%20a,pickled%20beets%2C%and%20aple%20butter.
Negley, E. (11/21/18). Before Lancaster County Celebrated Thanksgiving, we had 'harvest home." Lancaster Online. https://lancasteronline.com/features/food/before-lancaster-countycelebrated-thanksgiving-we-had-harvest-home/article_6ebe9a46-ed06-11e8-a010-273d30fbdef2.html
Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking. (Booklet). (year unknown). Distributed by Dutchcraft, Inc, 25 S. Washington Street, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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