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American Thanksgiving (1621)

Passengers in England boarded the Mayflower
To sail across the Atlantic to the New World,
And escape religious persecution for their faith
In worshiping God, which they believed to be righteous,
With separation of God and King, Church and state.

They suffered that first winter in Plymouth Harbor
Off Plymouth Rock in the holds of the Mayflower,
Living on provisions from Native inhabitants.
And with Spring’s arrival, the survivors emerged
To establish a settlement in Plymouth, New England.

They cleared the land and tilled the soil and planted seeds
In mounds of corn and beans, and squash in-between;
(Engaging techniques taught by Indigenous people).
And hunted venison, geese, and wild turkey,
And picked berries and gathered the sea’s bounty,

And that first autumn reaped a successful harvest.
A banquet followed, with Wampanoag invited.
And prayers of thanksgiving to the Lord were recited.
Food was prepared and spread out on tables for feasting,
With a comradery in shared destiny, existing.
                               ***

Notes:
1) Sept. 6, 1620: On September 6, 1620, thirty crew members and one hundred and two passengers boarded the ship “Mayflower,” and departed Plymouth, England, for the New World.

2) November 9, 1620: On November 9, 1620, Captain Christopher Jones (1570–1622) of the “Mayflower” sighted land off the Cape Cod coast and on December 16, 1620, anchored in Plymouth Harbor in present day Massachusetts, U.S.A. Only fifty-three Puritans and fifteen crew members survived that first winter.

3) November 21, 1620: On November 21, 1620, “The Mayflower Compact” was signed by 41 male passengers aboard the Mayflower that lay at anchor off Cape Cod. The document set down the governance and rules for the establishment of the Colony and reaffirmed their alliance to King James 1 (1566–1625) of England.

4) Three Sisters: The Wampanoag (Native inhabitants/Indigenous people) grew maize, squash, and climbing beans. Planted together, the crops utilized the soil and yielded a satisfactory diet from a single planting. The corn provided support for the beans; the beans pulled nitrogen from the air and put it into the soil for the plants; and the squash leaves shaded the soil, keeping moisture in and preventing weeds from taking root while their prickly leaves deterred animals from raiding the fields.

5) October, 1621: In the month of October 1621, the “Pilgrims” (aka Puritans) celebrated their first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, New England. Approximately fifty-three Pilgrims and ninety Wampanoag (First Nations people) were in attendance.

6) Thanksgiving Day, U.S.A.: Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in the United States of America on the fourth Thursday of November. Thanksgiving Day became a federal holiday in 1863 during the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln.
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