England had a lot of religious rules and the Pilgrims decided to go to America to avoid all of these rules since they followed a different set of religious rules and the teachings of John Calvin on how they had to worship God.
Before they decided to leave their country, they did ask the king for permission to start their own church and their request was denied.
Their first choice was to move to Holland where they had religious freedom and how they could worship as they saw fit. They stayed in Holland until 1620 and then decided they are not satisfied anymore on the effect Holland had on their children.
In 1620 they went back to England and prepared themselves to leave for 'the new world'.
It was a long and tiresome journey on a ship - not as today - and they had to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to reach North America. The ship that would take them to America was named the Mayflower.
On the 11th of December 1620, the first Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. They preferred to be called 'Puritans' since they believed in living a pure and simple live.
The Wampanoag Indians were the people who taught the Pilgrims how to get the land ready for planting. They helped and welcomed the Pilgrims.
By the fall of 1621, only half of the pilgrims, who had sailed on the Mayflower, survived. The survivors, thankful to be alive, decided to prepare a thanksgiving feast.
The Pilgrim leader, Governor William Bradford, had organized the first Thanksgiving feast in the year 1621, in Massachusetts. The first Thanksgiving feast was held in the presence of around ninety Wampanoag Indians and the Wampanoag chief, Massasoit, was also invited.
The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted for three days and they had enough food and drinks to share. They brought beer with them on the Mayflower.
Find a video to watch on the first Thanksgiving.
Write a few sentences on how you celebrate Thanksgiving and what you are thankful for.
