Morgan Schroeder & Brooke Walsh
Staff Writers
As Thanksgiving approaches, everyone is preparing for the feast of the year. Thanksgiving is one of the most widely enjoyed holidays there is. Whether it’s getting together with family, eating the delicious turkey you’ve been thinking about all year, or watching the parade, it's always a time to celebrate. Most importantly, you can’t forget about the giving thanks to the people around you. Getting together with family at the dinner table while eating the well prepared food is undeniably one of the greatest feelings in the world. To remember the history of Thanksgiving, here’s how it all started.
In September 1620, a ship left England. This ship, called the Mayflower carried 102 passengers. The passengers were seeking new grounds where they could freely practice their faith. The voyage took 66 days and the ship settled near Cape Cod, which is far north of their intended destination, at the mouth of the Hudson River. A month later the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the pilgrims are known to have started their work at establishing a village at Plymouth. In March, some settlers moved ashore, where a Native American greeted them. The Native Americans taught them important skills like extracting sap from maple trees, catching fish, and avoiding poisonous plants. In November of 1621, after the Pilgrims first successful corn harvest.The Governor William Bradford, wanted to celebrate the victory with a feast. The next year they had another feast to celebrate the end of a long drought. Then, in 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation: he called upon Americans to express their gratitude for the conclusions of the country’s war for independence and successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. After this, over time more states got involved in this tradition. So, when you’re eating your favorite foods on Thanksgiving, take time to remember the amazing history of where this holiday began.
