While it's widely considered true that the first Thanksgiving took place in 1621 between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag, the history of this celebrated Plymouth Colony feast contains many traditions and myths.

In reality we have very little reference to the details of the actual event. According to Pilgrims William Bradford and Edward Winslow, the harvest feast lasted several days and included dishes like venison, waterfowl, eel, and other types of seafood.

Other references site Thanksgiving-type feasts taking place in Virginia's settlement of Jamestown more than a decade earlier, also revolving around the harvest. So what are some of the traditions and myths built around the Thanksgiving dinner?

TURKEY

In a timeline of foods served in the United States for Thanskgiving, the first reference of the 1621 meal did not include turkey. While wild turkeys were certainly in abundance, Winslow, who created the only true contemporary account of the event, only mentions fowls, venison, and other types of meat in his writings.

CRANBERRIES

If cranberries were used in the first celebration, they were almost certainly brought to the table by the Wampanoag Indians. The first mention of cranberries in English writings didn't exist until nearly 50 years later.

DRESS AND APPAREL

While we all like to hold tight to our images of black-clad, beltbuckled Pilgrims eating kindly with natives in feathers and leather, the reality is that Pilgrims only wore black on Sundays, and the Wampanoag were likely fully dressed in order to cope with the cooler, late fall temperatures.

SERVING STYLES

Though the image ingrained in our minds shows Pilgrims and Native Americans sitting at a large table with bowls of blessed food, the reality is they didn't sit down together in the formal style. The likely scenario is that food was placed on any flat surface available, and the meal was consumed over the course of the three days as mentioned by Winslow, not with some sort of ceremony, but when people were hungry.

How do you serve Thanksgiving?

Whether you're a fine dining restaurant serving a multi-course Thanksgiving feast, a hotel serving it buffet style, or even if you're just looking to serve a nice dinner at home to your family, there are many serving solutions and tabletop considerations that can enhance the efficiency and style of your meal.

Get ideas for Thanksgiving or any other dinner-related holiday by checking out the Bauscher Hepp Design Guide.