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The broad scope of our abundance, and Whom to thank, come into perspective when 5 kernels of corn are on our plates before eating our feast.
Within the stories of Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder are details of a legend concerning a famine the pilgrims experienced, two years after the first Thanksgiving. The leader, William Bradford, suggested they were to survive on a ration of five kernels of corn. While they had other food, the lack of grain was causing starvation. When the famine had ended, they celebrated Thanksgiving by FIRST placing five kernels of corn on their plate as a reminder of harsher times.
Other renditions of the story have the cause of the famine being a communal crop distribution, prior to the first Thanksgiving. After a season some pilgrims realized they could receive equal without contributing as much effort. When a cyclical smaller harvest occurred, in addition to the smaller contribution by some, there was insufficient food available. Famine began to set in, only 5 kernels of corn were available to each person. It was the Native Americans who helped the starving Pilgrims. The next year the policy of a communal crop distribution, to each family, was abandoned. They now kept what they produced and shared willingly. A reflection of their gratitude, for an abundant crop and realization of individual responsibility, was represented by 5 kernels of corn on their plates.
Whether you embrace the simpler version recited by Laura Ingalls Wilder or the elaboration detailing work ethics; the broad scope of our abundance, and Whom to thank, come into perspective when 5 kernels of corn are on our plates before eating our feast.
Five Kernels poem by Hezekiah Butterworth
https://discoverpoetry.com/poems/hezekiah-butterworth/five-kernels-of-c…
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