The Thanksgiving Story
The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church called the Separatists. They had earlier left their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to practice their religion freely. There, they enjoyed more religious freedom, but they eventually became unhappy with the Dutch way of life. Seeking a better life, the Pilgrims talked with a London company to buy tickets for a trip to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were not Pilgrims, but were hired by the London company to make sure things went well. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was terrible. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was an excellent one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast -- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the Indians. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "Thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days.

Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison (deer). The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl (bird).

Another modern dish at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The pilgrims supply of flour was used up, so there was no bread, cake, or pie of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There were no cows for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many people to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.

This "Thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. But in 1623, during a very bad drought (no rain), the pilgrims gathered in a prayer service, praying for rain. When a long, steady rain followed the very next day, Governor Bradford proclaimed another day of Thanksgiving, again inviting their Indian friends. It wasn't until June of 1676 that a third Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed.

On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that their community had seen. They instructed Edward Rawson, the town clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a Day of Thanksgiving.

October of 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a Thanksgiving celebration. It also was used to celebrate the Revolutionary War victory over the British at Saratoga. But it only was done that year.

George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were against it. Many people in the new United States felt the hardships of the Pilgrims should not be celebrated as a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson took away the idea of having a day of Thanksgiving.

It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose work eventually led to a day of Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many magazine articles in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after  40 years of writing magazine articles and letters to governors and presidents, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally voted by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.

Answer the following questions in complete sentences.  Don't forget to use the edit/find button to search for key words.

1.  What country did the Pilgrims go to before they came to Plymouth?

2.  What was the month, day, and year the Mayflower landed at Plymouth?

3.  How many days did the first "Thanksgiving" celebration last?

4.  Why was there no pumpkin pie at the first "Thanksgiving" celebration?

5.  What did the word "turkey" mean to the Pilgrims?

6.  In what years were the second and third "Thanksgiving" celebrations?

7.  In what year did George Washington proclaim a National Day of Thanksgiving?

8. In what year was Thanksgiving finally voted by Congress as a legal holiday, on the fourth Thursday in November?

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