History of Thanksgiving

The story of the first Thanksgiving Around 400 years ago, many people in England were unhappy because their King would not let them pray to God as they liked. The King said they must use the same prayers that he did. And if they refused, they were prosecuted, imprisoned or even killed. These Englishmen left their homes and went far off to a country called Holland. In Holland they were happy but they were very poor. When the children began to grow, they became less godlike and did not want to pray any more. After much talking and thinking these English people decided to embark on a pilgrimage to the New World. America They set out on a small ship called the Mayflower to take them across the sea. There were about 100 people on board the tiny ship. It was crowded, cold and uncomfortable The sea was rough. They were two months sailing over the Atlantic ocean. At last the Mayflower came in sight of land. The month was November and it was cold. There was nothing to be seen but snow, rocks and hard bare grond. They were tired and cold from their long journey and hungry too. No one had enough food to eat. Many of them became sick and by springtime almost half of the people died. In spring, the sun shone brightly. The snow melted and the leaves and flowers began to emerge. Some friendly Indians had visited the pilgrims during the winter. One of the kind Indians was named Skwanto. He stayed with the pilgrims and thought them how to plant their corn, peas, wheat and barley.