How the main American family holiday came about

As in other cases at that time, the main reason for traveling to the then unknown New World was religious beliefs. English Puritan Independents, persecuted in England (the story was more complicated, but we will not dwell on it), moved first to the Netherlands, and later, having failed to assimilate there (some of the "pilgrims", as they later called themselves - on the contrary, under the threat of assimilation) decided to try their luck in the New World.

On September 16, 1620, the ship, whose name "Mayflower" became legendary in the history of the United States, sailed with 102 passengers, including 31 children, on board (74 men, 28 women). The voyage was difficult, including due to the small size of the ship, the displacement of which was only 120 tons.

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After arriving in North America, it turned out that the pilgrims landed in a place far from the one they had planned. Nevertheless, they decided to stay there, and 41 heads of families signed the so-called "Mayflower Compact" on the founding of the colony and the principles of governance in it, which is considered the first example of democratic self-government.

Only half of the arrivals survived the first winter. Due to the feud between the Indian tribes, some of the Indians decided to use the Pilgrims as allies. The Indian Squanto, who later became a legend in the history of the United States, taught them to grow corn and pumpkin and showed them places rich in game and fish. The following year, the colonists had already provided themselves with grain for the winter, and their governor Bradford on this occasion declared one day a day of thanksgiving to God. Many years later, in 1789, the first US President George Washington declared November 26 a national Thanksgiving Day.

According to long-standing traditions, all relatives gather together on this day. They eat the same thing at the holiday that, as is believed, they ate on the first Thanksgiving Day in 1621 - turkey and pumpkin pie.

And it all began, as already mentioned, on September 16, 2025. Not so long ago, the descendants of the Mayflower passengers were considered aristocracy in the United States, but today, according to historians, up to tens of millions of Americans have at least one ancestor who was among the 102 passengers on the ship.

Photo: "Mayflower II", a full-size replica of the first "Mayflower" Wikipedia