The celebration of Thanks-giving in America was probably derived from the harvest-home ceremonies originally held in England. These were days reserved to thank God for plentiful crops and a bountiful harvest.

Accordingly, this holiday still takes place late in the fall season after crops have been gathered. The first observance of Thanksgiving in America was entirely religious in nature and involved no form of feasting. On Dec. 4, 1619, a group of 38 English settlers arrived at

Berkeley Plantation on the James River, a location now known as Charles

City, Va. The charter of the group required that the day of arrival be observed as a Day of Thanksgiving to God.

The first Thanksgiving in the New England area was celebrated in 1621, a little less than a year after the Plymouth colonists had settled in

America. Popularly known as the Pilgrims, they had set sail from

Plymouth, England on a ship called the Mayflower on Sept. 6, 1620.

They were fortune hunters, bound for the resourceful “New World.” The

Mayflower was a small ship crowded with men, women and children, besides the sailors on board. On board were passengers comprised of the “separatists,” who called themselves the “Saints” and others, whom the separatists called the “Strangers.”

After land was sighted in November following 66 days of a lethal voyage, a meeting was held and an agreement of truce was worked out between the Saints and Strangers. It was called the Mayflower Compact.

The agreement guaranteed equality among the members of the two groups.

They merged together to be recognized as the “Pilgrims.” They elected

John Carver as their first governor.

Contrary to popular belief, however, Plymouth Rock was not the site of the original colony. When the Pilgrims landed there on Dec. 11, 1620 in search of fresh provisions, they were greeted with hostility by

Natives in the immediate vicinity and put back out to sea almost at once. A little further south, they came across Cape Cod, a much more favorable anchorage than Plymouth had proved to be and a Native population which was more cordial in nature.

Weary from their voyage and in no mood to hunt down the site mandated by their charter (which was considerably further down the coast and somewhere within the limits of the original grant of the Virginia

Company of Plymouth), the Pilgrims decided to establish their colony within this friendly territory.

That initial harsh Massachusetts winter killed approximately one-half of the original 102 colonists. In the following spring of 1621, the

Indians, led by two braves named Samoset (of the Wampanoag Tribe) and

Squanto (of the Patuxtet Tribe), taught the survivors how to plant corn and how to catch alewives, a variety of the herring family, so that the fish might be used as a fertilizer to growing pumpkins, beans and other crops. Samsoset and Squanto also instructed the Pilgrims in the arts of hunting and angling.

By that summer, despite poor crops of peas, wheat and barley, a good corn yield was expected and the pumpkin crop was bountiful. In early autumn, to recognize the help given the colonists by the Natives and give thanks for having survived, Governor William Bradford arranged for a harvest festival.

Four men were sent “fowling” after ducks and geese. Turkey may or may not have been a part of the forthcoming meal since the term “turkey”

was used by the Pilgrims to mean any type of wild fowl.

The festival lasted three days. Massasoit, local sachem or chief of the

Wampanoag, together with 90 Indians from the various Eastern

Woodlands tribes participated in the ceremony. There can be little doubt that the majority of the feast was most likely furnished by the indigenous population. It is certain that they provided venison. The remainder of the meal, eaten outdoors around large tables, also probably included fish, berries, boiled pumpkin, watercress, leeks, lobster, dried fruit, clams, wild plums and cornbread.

The celebration of this first New England Thanksgiving is believed to have taken place sometime between Sept. 21 and Nov. 9. It was a one-time celebration and not intended to be an annual festival.

It was not until 55 years later than another Thanksgiving Day was officially proclaimed, when the Governing Council of Charlestown,

Massachusetts convened on June 20, 1676 to weigh how to best express thanks for the good fortune that had secured the establishment of their community. By unanimous vote, Edward Rawson, Clerk of the Council, was instructed to announce June 29 as a Day of Thanksgiving.

Again, this proved to be only a one-time event.