1. Written and Illustrated by Phillip Martin

2. The year 1620 the Pilgrims came over.
Plymouth Rock
The year
1620 the
Pilgrims
came over.
Perhaps you know the song? It doesn’t mention that the Wampanoag people lived in the area of what is now Massachusetts for 12,000 years.

3. Prior to landing at
Plymouth, the Pilgrims lived in Holland for 12 years, separating themselves from the Church of England.

4. There were 101 men, women and children on the Mayflower.
It took sixty-six days to cross the Atlantic Ocean to get to the New World.

5. The Wampanoag knew the land well
The Wampanoag knew the land well. They knew how to hunt, fish and harvest. The settlers learned from the Wampanoag how to
grow their crops.
After the harvest in
1621, the Pilgrims
celebrated with a
three day
feast.

6. That first Thanksgiving meal was with different food from what is eaten today.
It was celebrated
with deer, shellfish
pumpkin, succotash, lobster, nuts, roasted corn and probably
duck or geese.

7. History is unclear if the Pilgrims actually invited their neighbors to the celebration.
It is debated that the Wampanoag heard gun fire and might have crashed the party.

8. All we know about the first Thanksgiving comes from a letter written by Edward Winslow in That letter and the holiday were forgotten for about 200 years.
In 1841, Boston publisher Alexander Young printed Winslow’s letter. He called it the “first Thanksgiving” and the idea was very popular.

9. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday.
It is suggested that Lincoln wanted Thanksgiving to help heal a divided nation after the civil war. The idea of Native Americans and Pilgrims getting along was a good unity story. Who knows?

10. Franklin Roosevelt set the date for Thanksgiving in November and it was approved by Congress in 1941.
In 1621, it was most
likely after harvest in
late September
or October.

11. Not everything you have heard about the first Thanksgiving is true
Not everything you have heard about the first Thanksgiving is true. Say it isn’t so!
The friendship between the settlers and the Wampanoag wasn’t very warm and fuzzy and only lasted a generation.
The settlers didn’t wear
black clothing or buckles
on their shoes or hats.

12. The Wampanoag wore no feathers in their hair.
For the settlers, a day of thanksgiving would have been a religious day. This day wasn’t. There were games and dances.
A religious holiday would not include the Wampanoag. It would have included fasting.

13. Believe it or not, the Pilgrims didn’t even refer to themselves as Pilgrims. They were Separatists who were unhappy with the Church of England.
The term Pilgrims started up in The word was picked from the writings of William Bradford, governor of the colony from 1621–57.

14. There is even debate about when
and where the first
Thanksgiving celebration took
place!
Texans claim
it started in
1598 in San
Elizario, near
El Paso, Texas.
And, yes, Virginia
claims the very first Thanksgiving was along the
James River in 1629.
Long before, many world cultures have celebrated the
harvest.

15. No matter the origins, myths and mistakes
No matter the origins, myths and mistakes. No matter if your celebration is in October in Canada or November in the U.S.A. and with or without turkey, cranberries, football or hockey. It is always good to stop and be thankful for life’s blessings.