[BiggerTom]

Reprinted without permission (because I don't care about copyright law) from: Why It's A Holiday. by Ann McGovern. Random House. 1960.



THANKSGIVING

The sky was gray and the sea was rough. The little ship tossed about on the stormy sea.
On the Mayflower, one hundred and two passengers crowded together. The rocking of the ship made some of the passengers seasick. Others were sick because there were not enough fresh fruits and vegetables to eat.
All were tired. All were cold. All were hungry.
For nearly eight weeks they had been sailing on the Mayflower across the wide ocean. Sailing from England. Sailing to faraway America.
Most of the passengers were called Pilgrims. They had left England for a special reason. In England they had not been allowed to have their own church.
Now they were going to settle in America. There they would be able to go to their own church and pray their own way.
For eight weeks they sailed. Weeks filled with hunger and sickness--and dreams of the new land. Then one day the passengers heard a joyful cry. Land ho! LAND HO!
The day was bitter cold. But the hearts of the Pilgrims were warm with happiness. They knelt on the wooden decks of the Mayflower. They bowed their heads and gave thanks to God for bringing them to their new land.
There were bad times ahead in that year of 1620. That first winter in Plymouth Massachusetts, was full of sadness. Many of the settlers became sick. Many of them died.
With heavy hearts, the small group of brave Pilgrims worked harder than ever.
They cut down sturdy trees to build sturdy houses. They made warm clothes to wear in the cold weather.
And by this time, they had good friends. They made friends with the Indian Cheif, Massasoit, and his tribe.
The long, hard winter passed into spring. Then the Indians showed the pilgrims the best places for fishing. They taught the pilgrims how to plant corn. They placed a small fish with the corn seed to make the soil richer.
The Indains gave the Pilgrims corn seed and beaver skins. In return, the Pilgrims gave their Indain friends bright beads and sharp English knives.
That spring, men, women, and children worked hard in the fields. And that year, the corn grew high. There was plenty of barley, wheat, and peas.
The governor of Plymouth called the Pilgrims together and made a brief speech.
"We have much to be thankful for," he said. "Let us set aside a special day to thank God for this good harvest."
The day was set. The Indians were invited.
From the forrests, the men brought back deer and turkey. From the sea they brought back fish and eels and clams.
The women cooked and cooked. They baked pies and made bread. They cleaned and polished and scrubbed.
The special day arrived. The Indians came with a present of five deer.
So much company!
So much food!
Cheif Massasoit and ninety Indains sat down to the first Thanksgiving dinner in America.
The Pilgrims said prayers of Thanksgiving. They thanked God for the good harvest, their comfortable homes, and their warm clothes. They thanked God for their new friends who taught them the new ways of a new land. And they thanked God for the country where they were free to go to their own church.
The sun went down. But the Indains stayed. They stayed for three days. They played games and sang songs. and they ate and ate and ate.
That first Thanksgiving dinner took place [almost 400] years ago.
And every year, on the fourth Thursday of November, Americans give thanks for the food on the table, for families and for friends, and for their country and their freedom.
They give thanks, just as the Pilgrims did long, long, ago.