The Origins of Thanksgiving

Slide: “Origin” “Thanksgiving traces its origin back to 1621, when the Pilgrims,

who were English settlers, held a three-day feast in Plymouth,

Massachusetts. These Pilgrims had survived a brutal first winter in the New World: around

half of them had died from disease, starvation, and the cold. Their survival

was only possible thanks to the Wampanoag people, the Native American tribe living in

the region. The Wampanoag taught the Pilgrims essential skills: how to grow local crops like

corn, beans and squash, how to fish in the local rivers,

and how to adapt to the harsh environment. When the Pilgrims finally had their first