History of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day can be traced back to the 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, where the religious refugees from England known popularly as the Pilgrims invited the local Native Americans to a harvest feast after a particularly successful growing season.

The previous year's harvests had failed and in the winter of 1620 half of the pilgrims had starved to death.

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Luckily for the rest, members of the local Wampanoag tribe taught the Pilgrims how to grow corn, beans and squash (the Three Sisters); catch fish, and collect seafood.

There are only two contemporary accounts of the 1621 Thanksgiving, but it's clear that Turkey was not on the menu. The three-day feast included goose, lobster, cod and deer.

Holiday History

Slideshow: Thankgiving Turkey at the White House
From 1947 to the present, a history of U.S. Presidents and the fate of their Thanksgiving turkeys

Thanksgiving Presidential Turkey Pardon
The turkey that lives to see another day

Thanksgiving History
From fall feast to national holiday

Thanksgiving by the Numbers
From the U.S. Census Bureau

Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation
The official proclamation delivered in October 1863

History of Black Friday
How the day after Thanksgiving became the busiest shopping day of the year

Thanksgiving Fun

For Kids: How to Say "Thank You" in 26 Languages
Kiitos in Finnish; merci in French

Thanksgiving Crossword
27 Across: Made by family and friends at Thanksgiving

Turkey Day Quiz
How fast can a turkey trot?

Thanksgiving Movies
Relax with these Thanksgiving-themed movies

What's the Best Thanksgiving Movie?
Vote for your favorite

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/thanksgiving.html