Five Kernels of Corn Story

The story goes that once Thanksgiving became a holiday, the Pilgrims would start their meal with five kernels of corn on their plate.

These five golden kernels represented all the pilgrims had to eat for the entire day during difficult winter. The corn that remained was planted in the spring.

At Thanksgiving the five kernels of corn was a reminder that many had nearly starved because of lack of food.

Each pilgrim would stand up and one by one pick up each kernel of corn and share five things they were thankful for on Thanksgiving.

This tradition has been passed on from the early times.

To this day, many families place five kernels of corn on each plate to honor and remember the suffering and spirit of Thanksgiving of our Pilgrim ancestors. They also take turns sharing five blessings for which they are grateful.

The story of the five kernels of corn is a touching tradition to start with your family.

Story adapted from several online sources.
Image available on Amazon

Pilgrims would be surprised to see how we celebrate Thanksgiving these days.

In place of a typical modern Thanksgiving feast of turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, Pilgrims would have eaten what was available to them.

At the First Thanksgiving they would have eaten duck, goose, swan, venison, fish, lobster, mussels, eel and clams; pumpkin, squash, corn and cabbage; red and white grapes; red and black plums; berries and dried fruit.

The Print above of the "Jamestown Colonists Dealing Out the Last Kernels of Corn During the Starving Time, 1609-1610" depicts the story of the Five Kernels.

Canvas Print of Indian Corn available on Amazon

Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day, presently celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863. It did not become a federal holiday until 1941. Thanksgiving was historically a religious observation to give thanks to God,[1] and is still celebrated as such by many families, but it is now also considered a secular holiday as well.[2][3]

Most Americans celebrate by gathering at home with family or friends for a holiday feast. Though the holiday's origins can be traced to harvest festivals which have been celebrated in many cultures since ancient times, the American holiday is tied to the deliverance of the English settlers by Native Americans after the harsh winter at Plymouth, Massachusetts and that event has become the pre-eminent foundation story for English North America.

The First Thanksgiving was celebrated to give thanks to God and the Native Americans for helping the pilgrims survive the brutal winter.

read the rest of the Wikipedia article

This year in updating the lens, I noted a blog post from Heather Rojo of Nutfield Genealogy and Captain of the New Hampshire Mayflower Society raises the question that the Five Kernels of Corn may be more myth (fabricated) than legend (historical basis).

She cites information from Jim Baker, a member of the Massachusetts Board of Assistants, who explains that the story never happened and that "there any reason to believe that the colonial leaders would actually issue a daily corn ration of five kernals, which was not enough to be of any nutritional benefit."

The myth may have grown out of an 1820 Forefathers' Day dinner, when five kernels of corn were placed on the plates as a reminder of "the time in 1623, when that was the proportion allowed to each individual on account of scarcity."

Caleb Johnson, author of several books on the Mayflower who is a Mayflower descendant, a member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants includes the Five Kernels of Corn as one of the myths about the Mayflower and Pilgrims:

This was a myth that apparently began in 1820. It has no foundation in historical fact.

There was a shortage of planted crops that year, and hunger was a problem, but their diet was supplemented by enough fish, shellfish, nuts, waterfowl, turkeys, deer, and other native flora and fauna, to keep everyone alive.

It is interesting to read that this story, which has become a great part of many people's Thanksgiving traditions and is used in many Thanksgiving sermons and as Teaching Units on Pilgrims and the Mayflower, may be more of a myth that a true legend.

From a nutrition perspective, there is not much nutrition in five kernels of corn. It would have made more sense to hang on to the corn kernels to plant them in the spring, rather than eating them.

For me, Thanksgiving is most about taking the time to stop for a moment from all the craziness and give thanks for what we have.

Since Thanksgiving is about traditions, there are many traditions, from simple to more complicated, that can be started to help your family remember to stop for a moment to express gratitude.

Opening up and serving a can of corn or popping popcorn after Thanksgiving are an easy ways to remember the Five Kernels of Corn story.

Other traditions that can be started at Thanksgiving include creating a Thanksgiving Bowl, Jar, Box or Wreath. Using these prompts family and friends can voice or write down the reasons and the things for which they want to give thanks.

Thanksgiving Vase by Doug WW

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts.

No Americans have been more impoverished
than these who, nevertheless,
set aside a day of thanksgiving.

H. U. Westermayer

If after reading about the Five Kernels of Corn myth you are inspired to plant your own corn, you may want to take a look at companion planting, to help your corn grow.

In Native American legends the three sisters can only grow and thrive if they are planted together. The three sisters are corn, squash and beans.

These legends have some truth behind the stories, planting the three plants together allows the corn, beans and squash to support the growth of each other and work together in a process called companion planting. Each plant contributes something to help the others to grow, creating a beneficial relationship that allows the plants to grow better together than each would grow alone.

Canvas Print of Sweet Corn available on Amazon

Kiva is world's first person-to-person micro-lending website that connects online lenders to entrepreneurs across the globe.

By being one of the winning lenses during the 2009 Official Squidoo Thanksgiving Cookoff (for Charity) Squidoo donated $1000 to Kiva for my non-recipe lens accepted into the challenge.

You can make a difference to an entrepreneur in the developing world by loaning $25 and do even more as part of SquidKiva.

Being able to make a difference for $25 is a little like making a difference with and being grateful for five kernels of corn.

This lens continue to benefit Kiva.

SquidKiva is a Lending Team at kiva.org where Squidoo Lensmasters can collectively help many people worldwide by each contributing small amounts of money in the for of micro-loans.

SquidKiva is a collaborative effort open to all Squidoo Lensmasters. Joining our lending team is very simple, and in doing so we can communicate, collectively track our contributions, and better promote Kiva and their cause.

I am honored that this lens was chosen as a Lens of the Day during the first few days of the Squidoo Charity Cookoff. Robin noted in her "Corn for Thanksgiving" post on her "Cabaret Squidoo Best Recipes Arcade" blog that it was a tradition her family had been following, but she didn't know why:

Today's winner of the Squidoo Thanksgiving Cookoff (for charity) doesn't share a recipe at all but instead shares the legend of the Five Kernels of Corn, a touching tradition that has been passed down to us from the Pilgrims.

Funny thing is that when I began reading the story, I realized that my family has been "some what" following this tradition on Thanksgiving Day for many years without knowing why...."

Read the whole story at Robin's blog post.

I am very glad to know that Kiva will be getting a sizable donation from Squidoo because of my efforts on this lens.