Most everyone in the United States celebrates Thanksgiving, but how many people know its history? The Pilgrims were originally members of the England Separatist Church; they had left England, and went to the Netherlands to avoid persecution for having different beliefs. While in the Netherlands, they did enjoy religious freedom, however, they soon began to think that the Dutch way of life was ungodly, so they decided to voyage to America.  After suffering an extremely cruel winter, losing 46 of the original 102 settlers, the colonists turned to the Native Americans for help.  It is thought that without the Native Americans, all of the colonists would have perished in Americas harsh winter climate.  In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indian tribe sat down together to share an autumn harvest feast, which lasted for three days.  The only two foods that it is known were on the table that day were venison and wild fowl, but many historians believe that lobster, seal, and swans were also on the menu.  What was eaten was dependant on social standing; the best foods were placed in front of the most important people.  Unlike how Americans traditionally do things now, people did not sample every food on the table; they only ate what was close to them. Table manners were very different from what we know today.  There were no forks, only knives and spoons.  The colonists used large cloths to wipe their hands on and also to pick up hot food.  Times have defiantly changed since then, we now have different foods, including turkey, pie, stuffing and sweet potatoes; we also have better table manners, and forks.  However, the essence of the original Thanksgiving is still with us, and now we all know how this great holiday came to be.
By Stephanie Rice
