Most of us know the story told about the first Thanksgiving: The pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, the winter was hard, Squanto and the Indians helped them grow food, and then the pilgrims thanked them by having a giant feast and celebration.

Leonard Sadosky, assistant professor of history, summed up the real story of the first Thanksgiving: Squanto was taken captive by the Spaniards and dragged to Spain, where he learned English working as a servant. When he returned to the New World, he and his tribe were able to help the starving pilgrims plant food and survive the winter.

Like most events in our past, we choose to grab the facts we want, add a happy ending to it and call it history. It’s true that the real story would be a bit graphic to have 7-year-olds act out in elementary schools, but are we really helping them by sugarcoating the facts?

“When we teach history, especially to elementary schoolers, we like happy endings,” said Sadosky. But this “happy ending” phenomenon spills over into all historical events beyond our single-digit years.

By creating a simplified version of the real story, what is really being lost? Not only do we develop a skewed version of reality, but also feelings of superiority and entitlement. We shape our history to make us look like the good guys every time.

However, for the sake of being in the holiday spirit, let’s not dwell on the negative.

Sadosky said the more important thing to celebrate, when it comes to Thanksgiving, is not the pilgrims and the Indians, but the shared history European descendents have. We aren’t all from here, so Thanksgiving is kind of a non-simplistic way of commemorating the struggle the settlers overcame so that we could live here today.

It may be hard to visualize any connections between our ancestors at Plymouth Rock and our lives today, but they’re there. Even the staples of the traditional Thanksgiving meal can trace their roots back to 1620.

“The turkey, potatoes and cranberries are all native foods,” said Sadosky. So, in some ways, we are still making a connection to those first meals shared between the Indians and settlers even if we didn’t know it.

The occasion of the first Thanksgiving may not be depicted properly, but its annual reincarnation is also more than just a day for feasting and football games. It’s about being with the people you love and commemorating your own history together.

While you’re home during next week’s break, take some time out from catching up on sleep to reflect on your family’s history.

Let’s make Thanksgiving the way it ought to be.