Thanksgiving

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth by Jennie A. Brownscombe (1914).

The festivity of Thanksgiving is celebrated in The United States the fourth Thursday of November.

American Thanksgiving holiday has its origin in 1621 when the Plymouth settlers celebrated a feast after a successful harvest. The feast continued to be celebrated sporadically through the years in autumn or at the beginning of winter. Though it has a religious origin, today it is considered as a  civil tradition.

The First Thanksgiving 1621 by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1899).

Squanto was a Catholic Native American living with the Wampanoag tribe. He taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel and grow corn. Squanto spoke the English language because he had been  a slave in England.  The Wampanoag leader, Massasoit,  helped the colonists by giving them food during the first winter after their arrival in Plymouth Rock (Massachusetts).
So, after their first hard winter the pilgrims decided to celebrate the good harvest they had had, which lasted for three days.

According to James Baker, vice president of research, the event ocurred between Sept. 21 and Nov. 11, 1621.  There were 50 persons who had come on the Mayflower out of 100 who had landed, and 90 Native Americans who were invited as guests.

Adapted from wikipedia for Secondary Education students.

You can learn a bit more  about Thanksgiving by watching this video:

Angelines.