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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 where they lived and prospered. After a few years their
children were speaking Dutch and had become attached to the dutch way of life. This
worried the Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch frivolous and their ideas a threat to
their children's education and morality.
So they decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World. Their trip was financ-
ed by a group of English investors, the Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that the
Pilgrims would be given passage and supplies in exchange for their working for their
backers for 7 years.
On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a ship called the May-
flower. They sailed from Plymouth, England and aboard were 44 Pilgrims, who called
themselves the "Saints", and 66 others ,whom the Pilgrims called the "Strangers."
The long trip was cold and damp and took 65 days. Since there was the danger of
fire on the wooden ship, the food had to be eaten cold. Many 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, 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 they did not settle until they
arrived at Plymouth, which had been named by Captain John Smith in 1614. It was
there that the Pilgrims decide to settle. Plymouth offered an excellent harbor. A
large brook offered a resource for fish. The Pilgrims biggest concern was attack
by the local Native American Indians. But the Patuxets were a peaceful group 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,
but many had died during the long winter. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew who left
England, less that 50 survived the first winter.
On March 16, 1621 , what was to become an important event took place, an Indian
brave walked into the Plymouth settlement. The Pilgrims were frightened until the
Indian called out "Welcome" (in English!).
His 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 where he
had learned English.
Squanto's importance to the Pilgrims was enormous and 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 with
the corn.
The harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims found themselves
with enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn, fruits and veg-
etables, fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over 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 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 90 braves came to the celebration which lasted for 3 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
unused to growing the corn. During the year they had also shared their stored
food with newcomers and the Pilgrims ran short of food.
The 3rd year brought a spring and summer that was hot and dry with 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 begining of the present day Thanksgiving Day.
The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, con-
tinued 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.
"Pinecone swag" � Laurie Korsgaden
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