The First Thanksgiving

A long time ago in a country called England, there were a group of people who all went to the same church, they were called Puritans.

There was a king of England who thought everyone should go to his church. He got mad when the pilgrims didn’t want to go to his church, he said, “You go to my church or you go to jail!”

The pilgrims said, “Ok, we’ll go to jail.”

Finally the king realized that the Pilgrims weren’t going to change their minds so he said, “You can get out of jail, but you have to leave England.” So the pilgrims set sail for America on a ship called the “Mayflower.”

The trip to America was long and hard The trip to America was long and hard. There were storms and the ship was really crowded.

When they got to America, it was winter and there were no food or houses. Many of the pilgrims died from sickness, starvation and freezing to death.

There were some people who lived in America already There were some people who lived in America already. We called them Native Americans or Indians. A friendly Indian named Squanto was one of the first they met.

The Native Americans were scared of the English when they met them for the first time. They wondered who these strange people were and why they had come to their land. But when they saw that the Pilgrims couldn’t take care of themselves in the new land, they decided to help them.

The Indians and the English wanted to learn about one another but they spoke different languages. This made it very hard for them to talk and understand each other.

Pocahontas was a Native American princess Pocahontas was a Native American princess. She was Chief Powhatan’s daughter. Pocahontas helped the English people by bringing them food and helping them to communicate and trade with other Native Americans.

The English were unfamiliar with the land so the Native Americans helped them by showing them what foods to eat and what crops to grow.

They showed them how to hunt and fish. They showed them how to grow corn and pumpkins. They helped them build houses out of the trees.

So when the next winter came, the Pilgrims had plenty of food to eat and a warm, safe place to live.

This was the first Thanksgiving. When harvest time came, the Pilgrims and the Indians decided to give thanks and celebrate together. The Pilgrims and the Indians had a big meal called a feast. This was the first Thanksgiving.

So they had a great feast that lasted for a whole week. They ate turkey, deer meat, fish, sweet potatoes, cornbread, and pumpkin pie. They also played games together.

But the first thing they did was to say a prayer of Thanksgiving to God for giving them friends, food, houses and a place to live where they could go to any church they wanted.

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving in November each year with a feast usually with our families. People eat turkey, sweet potatoes, beans, squash, and cornbread. For dessert, we sometimes eat pumpkin pie. We begin our meal by giving thanks for all the wonderful things we have.

Turkey Facts A Turkey is a bird. The largest turkey ever weighed was 86 pounds! The fleshy, red skin that hangs from the turkey’s neck is called a wattle. The state of Minnesota produces the most turkeys in the USA. Turkey eggs are white.

Pilgrim Facts The Pilgrims sailed to the New World on a ship called the Mayflower. They came from the country of England. They came to America so they could practice the religion they wanted and not what the king told them to. It took the Pilgrims about 2 months to get to America by boat. Squanto was the first friendly Native American they met.

Pumpkin Facts Pumpkin seeds are a tasty snack when roasted. Cinderella used a pumpkin for a carriage! Pumpkins grow on vines. Pumpkins are a fruit. Pumpkins can be orange, yellow, even reddish.

Thanksgiving Facts Native Americans joined the Pilgrims for the first Thanksgiving. The first Thanksgiving was in 1621. They ate pumpkin pie, turkey and cornbread. The Pilgrims ate sweet potatoes. President Thomas Jefferson did NOT want Thanksgiving to be a holiday.

Thanksgiving Traditions Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. Sweet Potatoes and mashed potatoes are usually served. 82% of Americans eat Turkey on Thanksgiving. Many families watch football on this holiday. American people eat 535,000,000 POUNDS of Turkey each Thanksgiving!!! WOW!!!

Tomorrow we will play a game to see how much you remember!!!