Thanksgiving Day Almost every culture in the world has held celebrations of thanks for a plentiful harvest. The American Thanksgiving holiday began as a festival of thanksgiving in the early days of the American colonies almost four hundred years ago. In 1620, a boat filled with more than one hundred people sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the New World. Their first winter in the New World was difficult. They had arrived too late to grow any crops, and without fresh food, half the _ died from disease. The following spring Indians taught then how to grow corn, a new food for the colonists. They showed them other crops to grow in the unfamiliar soil and how to hunt and fish. In the autumn of 1621, many crops of corn, beans and pumpkins were harvested. The colonists and much to be thankful for, so a festival was planned. They invited the local Indian chief and 90 Indians. The Indians brought deer to roast with the turkeys and other wild game offered by the colonists. To this first Thanksgiving, the Indians had even brought popcorn. In following years, many of the original colonists celebrated the autumn harvest with a festival of thanks. Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, a different date every year. The Thanksgiving is a time for tradition and sharing. Even if they live far away, family members gather for a reunion at the house of an older relative. All give thanks together for the good things that they have. When did the American Thanksgiving holiday begin?
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