Thanksgiving Day (U.S.A.)

In 1620, religious separatists from England set sail for the New World in the ship, the Mayflower, filled with one hundred and two people. They wanted to settle in a new land so they could enjoy religious freedom. Their faith held doctrinal beliefs different from the Church of England and they wanted to separate from it.

The first settlers landed at Plymouth Rock near Boston, Massachusetts in mid-November 1620 after a nine-week arduous journey. Many passengers fell ill and died. Their first winter was difficult. They had arrived too late to grow crops, and without fresh food, half the colony died from disease. The following spring, an Abenaki native visited the colonists and soon brought Squanto, from the Pawtuxet tribe, who was able to speak English because he was captured years earlier by another Englishman. The natives taught the malnourished colonists how to grow corn, a new food indigenous to America, and to hunt and fish.

With the help of the Wampanoag natives, bountiful crops of corn, barley, beans and pumpkins were harvested in the fall of 1621. Governor William Bradford planned a harvest feast to give thanks to God for their survival. They invited 90 of the local tribe members, along with Chief Massasoit and Squanto. The natives brought roasted deer, turkey, and other wild game. The colonists ate new fruits and vegetables like cranberries, squash, and different kinds of corn.

It became a custom to celebrate a harvest feast to praise God for his providence. Largely, Thanksgiving has become a day set aside for families to reunite and enjoy a traditional meal of turkey, cranberries, potatoes, squash, stuffing, and other specialties.

As an independent nation, the U.S. Congress recommended one yearly national day of celebration to give thanks. George Washington chose November 26th as a day of remembrance. After the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln chose the last Thursday in November, and in 1939, Franklin Roosevelt moved it up one week to the 4th Thursday in November. He chose this to boost business by lengthening the Christmas shopping season.