What is Thanksgiving?

Hello Readers! 

This is the week of Thanksgiving!

Most of you probably know that Thanksgiving is an American holiday - and that it is a time for families to get together and eat a big meal and think about all the things they are thankful for in their lives. You are right!

But there is more. So in this post, I'd like to tell you a little more about Thanksgiving - when, where, and how it started, and what many Americans do to celebrate this holiday.

Today's post will be the background and history of Thanksgiving. 

Tomorrow will be information about today's Thanksgiving celebrations. 

Then be sure to check back on the day of Thanksgiving to find out about BLACK FRIDAY!

OK - Here is the beginning:

1620 - The first ship, named the Mayflower, arrived in America from England. It was full of people who left their homeland because they were not free there to worship their God the way they believed they should. The were called "Separatists" because they wanted to separate from the Church of England. The name we know best for them, however, is Pilgrim.

Image Source: Pilgrim Hall Museum  

The Pilgrims struggled their first winter in North America because they were not familiar with the land and the kinds of crops they could grow and because the winter was so cold. Many of them died.

Image Source: The Pilgrims

The following spring, the nearby Wampanoag Indians helped the Pilgrims to plant crops that would they could harvest and eat the next winter. The Indians also helped them prepare for the winter by teaching them how to use the resources of the land such as animals for food and warmth.

Image Source: Props to the Pilgrims

This offer of knowledge and skills from the Wampanoag Indians to the Pilgrims was greatly appreciated. The next fall when the Pilgrims harvested their crops, they invited the Indians to share in their feast. During this now famous "First Thanksgiving", the Pilgrims thanked their neighbors and new friends for their generosity and they thanked their God for freedom, health, family, and friends.













Image Source: Smithsonian 

This idea of expressing Thanks for friends and family and sharing our blessings with others is at the heart of the American Thanksgiving Holiday.