The document summarizes the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. It describes how the Pilgrims arrived in America on the Mayflower in 1620 and had a difficult first winter, with half of them dying from illness. The following fall, they had their first successful harvest with the help of the native Wampanoag people, including Squanto who acted as an interpreter. To celebrate the harvest, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag shared an autumn feast that is now remembered as the first Thanksgiving.

1. Thanksgiving Day

2. The Thanksgiving Story Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. It commemorates the first harvest of settlers from Europe.

3. The Thanksgiving Story On 15th August, 1620 a group of a hundred and two people set sail from England in a boat called The Mayflower to start a new life in America.

4. The Thanksgiving Story They were among the first Europeans to settle there.

5. The Thanksgiving Story They did not know what they would find in America, so they took with them everything they needed to live for a few months. They took furniture, clothes, tools, food and drink. They also took guns to protect themselves from the native Americans, who they called “Indians”.

6. The Thanksgiving Story After a long and dangerous voyage, they arrived in America on the 26th of December. The next few months were very hard. There were no houses so the settlers had to live on The Mayflower.

7. The Thanksgiving Story The weather was very cold and they suffered from a plague. Almost half the group died from the terrible illness. By spring, there were only fifty-four people left to start building houses and growing things to eat.

8. The Thanksgiving Story The native Americans did not attack the newcomers but helped them .

9. The Thanksgiving Story They taught the settlers where to plant their wheat and to catch fish.

10. The Thanksgiving Story They showed them animals and vegetables that did not exist in Europe at that time.

11. The Thanksgiving Story One native American helped them a lot and became their friend. His name was Squanto and he could speak English. He became their interpreter.

12. The Thanksgiving Story Some months later, the wheat and the other things the settlers were growing were ready. They cut the wheat and made bread. They dug up the vegetables and picked the fruit.

13. The Thanksgiving Story Then they gave thanks to God and celebrated the first harvest in their new country.

14. The Thanksgiving Story They cooked a huge meal for themselves and for the native Americans. They ate turkey, a bird that was new to the settlers and they ate new vegetables, such as sweet corn, potatoes and squash.

15. The Thanksgiving Story Now at Thanksgiving, Americans remember this harvest by cooking the same things that the settlers ate hundreds of years ago.

16. The Thanksgiving Story They also remember that it was probably because of Squanto and the other native Americans that the settlers survived that first year and went on to build a new country.