Thanksgiving Day
Over 360 years ago, in England, there lived some people called "Pilgrims", who were not happy with the laws of the king or the Church of England. The Pilgrims decided to leave England and, for a time, settled in Holland. At that time an English explorer, Captain John Smith, and other explorers and traders were charting new lands. Stories of their exploration had reached the Pilgrims in Holland. Hearing this, the Pilgrims decided to return to England to make plans to settle in the now world across the ocean. There they might really be free!Having obtained a ship called the "Mayflower" and ample provisions for a long journey, they ( 102 passengers and about thirty sailors) set sail from Plymouth Harbor, England, in the autumn of 1620, and headed west-ward toward the new world. The Pilgrims had plenty of courage.For 65 days and nights, over a vast and furious ocean, the Pilgrims journeyed in the season of westerly gales. The Mayflower was driven off course by heavy storms while heading for a settlement in Virginia and sought shelter in Cape Cod Bay at Provincetown( Massachusetts).Few moments of greater drama exist in American history than that morning in November, 1620, when the Mayflower still lay at anchor in Provincetown Harbor. In the great cabin of the Mayflower, the Pilgrims drew up an agreement. It was the first set of laws in America that said the majority should rule. It was called the Mayflower Compact. Forty-one ( 41) men signed the agreement. The pattern for democratic government in the new world was set!
In November 1620, the Pilgrims landed in America. They were cold, tired, and sick from their long trip across the Atlantic Ocean in their ship, the Mayflower. They needed houses, so they went to work and cut down trees. The winter was very cold. As a result, many of the Pilgrims died before the summer came. Their food was almost gone. Luckily, friendly Indians showed them how to catch fish and clams, and showed them where to hunt for deer. Most important of all, the Indians showed the Pilgrims how to plant corn, a new food for these Europeans. In the fall, the Pilgrims harvested their corn crop. They filled baskets with vegetables, and more baskets with corn for the coming winter. The Pilgrims were happy and decided on a special day to give thanks for their good fortune. The Indians joined them, and they ate together at long wooden tables. The ate turkey, venison (deer meat), clams fish, corn bred, cranberry sauce, and many fruits and vegetables. "Thanksgiving," as they called it , became a tradition, and when Abraham Lincoln became president , he made it a holiday for the whole country. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday in November.
- 102 the number of passengers known to have been aboard the Mayflower.- 32 the number of children and other young people among the passengers.
- 2 the number of passengers who died on the voyage across the Atlantic.
- 2 the number of passengers of live children born on the ship before it reached Plymouth. (one baby at sea, the other while the Mayflower was anchored briefly in Cape Cod harbor. A third baby was stillborn.)
-0 the number of passengers cabin. In those days, merchant ships were not set up for comfort of passengers.They would have slept in hammocks or paid the ship's carpenter to build cabins or bunks for them.
- 65 the number of days it took for the Mayflower to sail from England to America.
- 41 the number of men who signed the Mayflower Compact, establishing laws in the New World. - 50 approximate number of Pilgrims who died of the "great sickness" and harsh conditions during the first winter in the new land.
- 3 the number of days the first Thanksgiving lasted in October 1621. Wampanoags and colonists shared venison, duck, turkey, clams, shellfish, corn pudding, pumpkin, dried berries and other local edibles.
- 9 the number of women teenage girls who prepared that three-day Thanksgiving feast for 140 hungry people.
- 35 million the number of Americans today who are direct descendants of the first Mayflower Pilgrims. That's 12% of our population.
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