How Thanksgiving Day Came into Being
In 1620, a small sailboat named the Mayflower left England for the New World. The Mayflower headed for the Jamestown colony on the warm shore of Virginia. Its one hundred passengers were the Pilgrims. They were looking for a place where they could worship God in their own way.
Because of strong winds and severe storms, the Mayflower lost its course. The brave group of colonists finally had to land at Plymouth on the rocky coast of Massachusetts in December 1620. It was the middle of the stern northern winter. Terrible months of starvation, disease, and death were ahead of them. Only the strongest of the Pilgrims survived that winter. Many women gave their own pitiful rations to their children and died for lack of food for themselves. The Governor of the Plymouth Colony, John Carver, died in April 1621. In his place, the Pilgrims elected William Bradford.
Conditions began to improve in the spring of 1621. There were wild vegetables. There were berries and fruit. Fish and game were plentiful. Therefore, they were able to get enough fresh meat despite their lack of skill or experience in hunting and fishing. The colonists' health improved with the warm weather and their better diet.
In the fall, they looked back over the past year. They were both regretful and thankful. Only fifty of the original one hundred passengers remained. The price in human lives and tragedy had been great. On the other hand, they saw new hope for the future. A splendid harvest was behind them. They were ready for the second winter with confidence. They had eleven crude houses for protection against the severe winter. Seven were for families, and four were for communal use. Best of all, they had established a treaty of friendship with their Indian neighbours under Chief Massasoit in the summer. The woods and forests became safe. When the Mayflower returned to England that summer, there were no colonists aboard.
At the end of their first year in their new home, the Pilgrims wanted to celebrate with a real holiday. Governor Bradford decided on December 13, 1621 as the day for giving thanks to God.
The colonists fired a cannon as a salute at dawn on that first Thanksgiving Day, afterwards they moved to the meeting house in a procession. This house took the place of a church for them. There they offered humble thanks to God. After the religious ceremony, a great feast and three days of celebration began. Massasoit and his Indian warriors were guests.
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