Friday, November 21, 2025

It is the 21st of November 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Listeners to this program might be familiar with the sometimes confusing nature of calendar reform (for various reasons) and how that can cause confusion when it comes to the “on this day” format.

You might also be familiar with the curious cauldron of legend, myth, and history that surrounds the so-called “Pilgrims” that made their way to Plymouth on the Mayflower and set the stage for our coming Holiday in America: Thanksgiving.

Let’s untangle some of this for the season and the coming day by remembering the epoch-making (maybe?) signing that took place on this day- or, well… follow me here. It was on this, the 21st of November in 1620 (which corresponds to the 11th of November on the old Calendar) that the famous Mayflower Compact was signed on board that Mayflower whilst the ship made its way, unbeknownst to them, to Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Let’s make sense of it all.

The “Pilgrims” that we think of, who came over on the Mayflower, would have been called “separatists” as they were not Church of England folk, but instead Puritans. They called themselves the “Saints” as opposed to others onboard who didn’t share the same theological concerns and were referred to as “strangers”- these strangers included Myles Standish and others who were either hired to help protect the Saints or who had other financial reasons for coming to the Virginia Colony under the auspices of King James I.

That’s right… Virginia colony. Hear the beginning of this Mayflower Compact that began: “Having undertaken for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony in the Northern Parts of Virginia”…

But, as you may know, a storm had sent them north, near Cape Cod, and this was part of the purpose of the Compact. Had they made it to Virginia, they would have assimilated under those laws from previous English settlers. Being that they were in, to them, uncharted territory, they needed some kind of pact. And thus, the Mayflower pact was drawn up and signed by 41 of the male passengers- that was most of the men, crew, and servants.  

The document has not survived, but contemporary documents have preserved what we think is the text for posterity. It’s significant- a kind of extension of English common law, binding the people together. It’s explicitly Christian, as you might expect, and these people were held in esteem by many of the later Revolutionary generation. However, they were called the “First Comers” and the holiday associated with it was “Forefathers Day” which was celebrated on December 22- around the day they came off the ship in Plymouth.

They would be referred to as “Pilgrims”, a general term for Christians on the move, in 1820 by Daniel Webster. The Holiday was declared by President Lincoln in 1863.

The events are certainly historical- and a feast in thanks certainly took place, many times, by the thankful “Pilgrims” but this was a pretty common affair. These Puritans would not have celebrated holidays (those were Catholic!) and so, when they deemed it appropriate to set time aside for remembrance, they would do so. But these would be solemn affairs- not necessarily what we associate with the holiday today. The smidge of a record we have from these folks and a November feast comes a year after their landing and disembarking. In 1621 after the survivors made it through a rough season for harvest they held a less solemn affair, apparently shooting off guns which attracted the local Wampanoag tribe, who, not wanting trouble from the new comers came looking at what the commotion was, and then, hastily got some venison, corn and other native staples to celebrate with these “Forefathers” “saints” and “Pilgrims”.

This holiday, Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims and their theological and political machinations (the political enshrined in the Compact signed on this day in 1620), are a microcosm of American religious, civic, and celebratory traditions- a mix of theology, legend, history, and collective memories. And guess what- I’ve got a few questions surrounding these very things coming up on this weekend’s show- the last mega-mailbag of the year, before next week kicks off the Advent/Christmas season! 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and a text from 1 Peter- a favorite of mine that I just taught adult sunday school on a few weeks ago:

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 21st of November 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who only eats the jarred gelatinous cranberry goo on Thanksgiving- he's Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man using the air/podwaves to ask his sister Lisa a modest request: black olives for my fingers and deviled eggs. I’m Dan van Voorhis. 

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.