FIRST AMERICAN THANKSGIVING

At the turn of the 16th century there was a lot of unrest in England.  A group of believers emerged who felt the need to leave the influence of the Church of England.  This group, much later, became known as Pilgrims.  In 1607, they fled to Holland because their lives were being threatened in England.  From there - in 1620 - they boarded a ship called the Mayflower and set sail for the new lands across the ocean.  Their primary objective was to find a place where they could live and worship in freedom and without persecution.

The Mayflower was an old boat that was about 100 feet long.  It was quite crowded with 102 passengers (plus crew).  We know the names of all these passengers!  The journey was hard with many storms.  At one point, a main beam broke and had to be repaired with a giant screw.  After 66 days, they sighted Cape Cod and realized that they had missed Virginia where they had permission to settle.  But with food and water supplies low, they could go no further.

Since they were on land that had not been chartered to them, they all signed the Mayflower Compact which basically stated that they would all stay together and cooperate for common survival.  When they were able, they petitioned for a new charter for the land of Plymouth;  this charter was granted in 1621.

In December of 1620, a group went ashore to explore.  They found the land of Plymouth to be suitable for living.  However, the winter was harsh and they were unprepared for it.  Many became sick.  By spring, half had died!  The Mayflower returned to England, but all of its passengers stayed in the new land.  In April, Samoset, a Native American who spoke English walked into the sttlement and said, "Welcome!"

The Wampnoag people had lived in this area for hundreds of years.  They were acquainted with English explorers who had come to fish and hunt.  One of their strongest leaders was Massasoit, who lived 40 miles southwest of the Pilgrims in Rhode Island.  These tribes had suffered from new diseases that took the lives of many of their people!  Because of this, Massasoit was interested in forming alliances wherever he could.

In the early fall of 1621, the 53 surviving Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in response to the harvest.  The 53 included:

• 4 married women
• 5 teenage girls
• 9 teenage boys
• 13 young children
• 22 adult men

Another ship arrived after this celebration, bringing more people to be part of the settlement.

King Massasoit attended the Thanksgiving along with 90 of his men.

The menu for that first Thanksgiving included:

• cod, bass, and other fish
• wild ducks and geese
• turkey
• lobster
• watercress
• berries
• dried fruit
• boiled pumpkin
• clams
• plums, and
• venison (Massasoit's men went out and killed 9 deer for the feast).

LESSON TO BE LEARNED
They thanked God even though they had experienced terrible hardship and great loss!  49 of their family and friends had died during that first hard winter!  They had said a final good-bye to mothers, fathers, friends, and children!  Yet, amazingly, when the Mayflower departed for England - no one left!  Their shelters were makeshift.  The Native Americans were friendly.  The game was bountiful.  The sea held food resources for them.  The gound was capable of bearing fruit.  But, most important, they had freedom!  They could worship God and express themselves to Him without interference from outside authorities!

FROM HAL
Enjoy your Thanksgiving!  Whether you've been blessed with much or with adversity, you can always find reasons to give thanks to God!