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In 1620, the ship called the Mayflower left England carrying 102 passengers — the Pilgrims. They were Christians who lived in England at the time of King James. They were not satisfied with his church reforms and he got very angry with them because of that. So, they escaped to America and formed their colony, Plymouth. It was a harsh winter when the Pilgrims arrived there and half of them died. They met Squanto, a Native American who spoke English. His tribe Wampanoag took pity on the Pilgrims and they showed them how to grow crops and how to hunt. 

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The Pilgrims invited the Native Americans to share a meal with them in November 1621. The first Thanksgiving was a three-day feast to celebrate the first successful harvest. The Pilgrims also wanted to thank the Native Americans. What did they eat? They had venison (deer meat), corn, barley, lobster, swan and goose. They didn't eat pumpkin pie or potatoes because they didn't know about these foods yet. They did not repeat the feast the next year. 

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In the 19th century, the American writer Sarah Josepha Hale wanted to recreate the first Thanksgiving feast. She started a campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. The campaign lasted for 30 years but she finally succeeded! In 1863, President Lincoln declared that the nation will celebrate Thanksgiving every year on the fourth Thursday in November. Sarah also published recipes for pumpkin pie, stuffing and turkey. 

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Today, Americans travel from all over the country to spend this day with their families. It is a very important holiday. Traditional Thanksgiving food includes roast turkey, stuffing, yams (sweet potatoes), mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn and pumpkin pie. Before sitting down for dinner, many Americans watch the Thanksgiving Day parade from New York, with marching bands, performers and huge balloons shaped like cartoon characters. They also traditionally watch American football on that day. On the other hand, Native Americans don’t have much to be thankful for. They were betrayed by the same people they had helped and were forced off their land.