Why were the puritans really giving thanks for?
The pilgrims had a hard time when they arrived on the Mayflower. Winter was about to begin and they were not able to grow food before the end of the season. Many died and disease spread rapidly. The next spring, Native Americans showed them how to grow new crops and hunt on the unfamiliar land. At the end of the season they harvested it all and invited the local Indian tribe to dinner as an offering of thanks for their help. While we mostly eat turkey at our meal, the pilgrims’ menu likely included venison, lobster, seal and swan. How did Thanksgiving become a national holiday? The first pilgrim thanksgiving was not repeated, but rather days of thanksgiving were called during colonial times to celebrate various harvests, military battles during the American Revolution, and the constitution being ratified. Then in the 1860s, a popular magazine editor named Sarah Hale called for a national day of thanksgiving each year. The Civil War was ending and President Abraham Lincoln wanted to uni
