In the 1600s, a group of Separatists (members of the English Separatist Church) fled England and sailed to Holland, where they hoped for religious freedom. They eventually left Holland and sailed to North America aboard the Mayflower. Although the Separatists accounted for close to one-third of those aboard the Mayflower, the others were hired workers making the trip to protect the interests of the London stock company that financed the trip.The Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock on Dec. 11, 1620, just in time to endure a devastating winter. By the fall of 1621, the original number of people who landed at Plymouth Rock had dwindled from 102 to 46.The harvest that first year was plentiful and the remaining Pilgrims celebrated with a three-day feast, inviting 91 Indians who had helped them survive.The menu at that first feast loosely resembled what Americans think of as a traditional Thanksgiving meal. The men had gone “fowling,” which meant that dinner was certain to include maybe ducks, geese or turkey and maybe venison.It is highly unlikely the Pilgrims had pumpkin pie, as their flour had run out. Boiled pumpkin and fried bread made from corn was more likely. Most Europeans considered potatoes poisonous. Fish, lobster, clams and fruit probably had a presence at dinner as well.History puts the next feast of thanksgiving in 1623 following a severe drought. The Pilgrims had gathered to pray for rain, and the next day it rained – steady and continuous. Gov. Bradford declared another day of giving thanks, and again invited the Indians.By 1676, the attitude toward the Indians had shifted from gratitude and friendship to hostility. In June the same year, the governing council of Charlestown, Mass., proclaimed June 29 as a day of thanksgiving, celebrating in part the colonists’ recent victory over the “heathen natives.”In 1789, George Washington proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving, referring back to the Pilgrim’s original feast. Many were opposed, thinking the Pilgrims’ experience was not worthy of a national holiday. Thomas Jefferson later scorned the national day.Sara Josepha Hale, editor of the Boston Ladies’ Magazine, launched a letter-writing campaign to promote the idea of a national holiday of thanksgiving. Over a 40-year period, she wrote letters to governors, presidents and newspapers. Finally, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving, and set it as the last Thursday in November.Every president since has proclaimed the Thanksgiving tradition. The date was changed a few times until 1941, when Congress sanctioned Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday in November, as a legal holiday.Source: http://wilstar.net/holidays/thankstr.htm
