Cranberry Thanksgiving

The Last Fresh Fruit Harvest of the Season

Autumn is the traditional time for the cranberry harvest across New England. Native Americans celebrate many “thanksgivings” throughout the year to honor what nature provides each season. Many tribes in New England celebrate the Cranberry Thanksgiving, including the Mohegan, Narragansett, Mashpee, and Aquinnah Wampanoag.

The below excerpts are from the Wampanoag Tribe's website.

cranberry bush

History of Cranberry Day

Cranberry Day is our most important tribal holiday. Long ago, Cranberry Day included many days of harvesting and feasting in celebration of the cranberry harvest. It was held in encampments on the north side of Aquinnah in Lobsterville, where the cranberry bogs are found. Many of our elders tell about the preparation for moving to Lobsterville and how much they looked forward to riding in the ox carts and the singing and dancing that would take place after a long day of cranberry harvesting. There were food tents with quahogs, chowder, venison, and dancing. In those days, the cranberries were then shipped by catboat and traded in New Bedford to obtain goods not found in Aquinnah, like sugar and molasses.

old black and white photo of a father and small son walking in a cranberry bog.

Present Day Tradition

Today we continue Cranberry Day in the same spirit and tradition as our ancestors. Each year on the second Tuesday in October, children from Aquinnah Wampanoag families are excused from school to participate in the traditional gatherings of Cranberry Day. Elders harvest with the youth and during lunch, around a large open fire, tell of past Cranberry Days, as well as legends and history taught to them by their elders. During the evening there is a large community potluck with singing and dancing to celebrate and give thanks to the Creator for another year's harvest.

Harvest Jonnycake Recipe

This recipe from Silvermoon LaRose is courtesy of the Tomaquag Museum in Exeter Rhode Island.

Ingredients:

  • 1 box Flint Cornmeal (finely ground preferred)
  • 1 can pureed pumpkin (or squash)
  • 1-1.5 cups Cranberries (fresh or dried)
  • .5-1 cup Sunflower Seeds (or other nuts of your preference)
  • Boiling Water (to consistency)
  • Maple Syrup (to taste, optional)
  • Salt to taste (to taste, optional but recommended)
  • Sunflower oil (for frying)

Directions:

  • Bring pot of water to boil.
  • While waiting, mix pureed pumpkin with cornmeal until well mixed and crumbly.
  • Pour in boiling water a little at a time and stir until smooth, but not wet, consistency.
  • Add salt and maple syrup to preferred taste (mixture should taste flavorful to you at this point).
  • Add cranberries and stir.
  • Add sunflower seeds and mix well (toasting sunflower seeds first enhances flavor).
  • Fry spoonfuls of mixture in sunflower oil.
  • Cook till golden brown on each side.
  • Dry on paper towel. Enjoy.

Variations:

Instead of adding cranberries to mixture, make a cranberry maple syrup.

  • Pour fresh cranberries into pot.
  • Add just a little water, enough to coat the bottom. Bring to boil till cranberries pop and release juice.
  • Add maple syrup. Cook on mid-low heat until moisture evaporates and leave syrupy consistency.
  • Use cranberry syrup over Harvest Jonnycakes.

© Tomaquag Museum/Silvermoon LaRose 2021 www.tomaquagmuseum.org

Learn More!

  • Check out the children’s book “Cranberry Day: A Wampanoag harvest celebration” by Janette Vanderhoop (Aquinnah Wampanoag) to share the Wampanoag tradition with your classmates. Janette is former director of Aquinnah Cultural Center on Martha's Vineyard.
  • Read and/or listen to Thanksgiving is a year-round practice of giving thanks from NPR's All things Considered (aired on November 2021).