The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in
America, were fleeing religious prosecution in their native
England. In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left England for the religious
freedom in Holland. There, they lived and prospered. After a few
years, the children of the Pilgrims were speaking Dutch and
had become attached to the dutch way of life. This worried the
Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch to be frivolous and their ideas
a threat to the education and morality of their children.

The Pilgrims decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World.
Their trip was financed by a group of English investors by the name of
Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that the Pilgrims would be
given passage and supplies in exchange for their working for the
investor's backers for seven years.

On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a
ship called the Mayflower. They sailed from Plymouth, England.
Aboard the ship were forty-four Pilgrims, who called themselves
"the Saints", and sixty-six others, who the Pilgrims called
"the Strangers."

The long trip was cold and damp and took sixty-five days.
Since there was a danger of fire on the wooden ship, the food
had to be eaten cold. Many of the passengers became sick and
one person died by the time land was sighted on November 10th.
 
 
 

The long trip led to many disagreements between "the Saints"
and "the Strangers". After land was sighted, a meeting was held,
and an agreement was worked out. This was called the Mayflower
Compact, which guaranteed equality and unified the two groups.
They joined together and named themselves the "Pilgrims."
 

Although they had first sighted land off Cape Cod, the Pilgrims did not
settle until they arrived at Plymouth. This area of land had been
named by Captain John Smith in 1614. It was at Plymouth that the
Pilgrims decided to settle. Plymouth offered an excellent harbor.
A large brook there was great for fishing. The Pilgrims' biggest
concern was an attack by the local Native American Indians known
as the Patuxets. However, the Patuxets were a peaceful group of
Indians and did not prove to be a threat.

The first winter was devastating to the Pilgrims. The cold,
snow, and sleet was exceptionally heavy, interfering with the
workers as they tried to construct their settlement. March brought
warmer weather, and the health of the Pilgrims improved. Sadly, many
had died during the long winter. Of the one hundred and ten Pilgrims
and crew who had left England, less than fifty survived the first winter.
 

On March 16, 1621 , an important event in American history
took place. An Indian brave walked into the Plymouth settlement.
The Pilgrims were frightened until the Indian called out
"Welcome" (in English!).

The Indian's name was Samoset, and he was an Abnaki Indian. He had
learned English from the captains of fishing boats that had sailed
off the coast. After staying the night, Samoset left the next day. He
soon returned with another Indian named Squanto, who spoke
better English than Samoset. Squanto told the Pilgrims of his
voyages across the ocean and his visits to England and Spain. It
was in England that Squanto had learned to speak English.

Squanto's importance to the Pilgrims was enormous. It can
be said that they would not have survived without his help. It was
Squanto who taught the Pilgrims how to tap the maple trees for
sap. He taught them which plants were poisonous and which had
medicinal powers. He taught them how to plant the Indian corn by
heaping the earth into low mounds with several seeds and fish in
each mound. The decaying fish fertilized the corn. He also taught
them to plant other crops along with the corn.

The harvest in October was very successful, and the Pilgrims
found themselves with enough food to store for the winter.
There was corn, fruits and vegetables, fish packaged in salt,
and meat that could be cured over the smoky fires.

The Pilgrims had much to celebrate. They had built homes in
the wilderness. They had raised enough crops to keep them alive
during the long coming winter. They were at peace with their Indian
neighbors. They had beaten the odds, and now it was time to celebrate.

The Pilgrim Governor, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of
thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring
Native Americans. They invited Squanto and the other Indians to
join them in their celebration. Their chief, Massasoit, and ninety
braves came to the celebration which lasted for three days. They
played games, ran races, marched, and played drums. The Indians
demonstrated their skills with the bow and arrow, and the Pilgrims
demonstrated their musket skills. Exactly when the festival took
place is uncertain, but it is believed the celebration took place in
mid-October.

The following year the Pilgrims' harvest was not as bountiful,
as they were still unsuccessful at growing corn. During the year they
had also shared their stored food with newcomers leaving them
short of food.

The third year brought a spring and summer that was hot and
dry. The crops dying in the fields. Governor Bradford ordered
a day of fasting and prayer, and it was soon thereafter that the
rain came. To celebrate - November 29th of that year was
proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the
real true beginning of the present day Thanksgiving Day.
 

The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after
the harvest, continued through the years. During the American
Revolution (late 1770's), a day of national thanksgiving was
suggested by the Continental Congress.

In 1817 New York State had adopted Thanksgiving Day as an
annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other
states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President
Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since
then each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation,
usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.

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