In September 1620, a small ship called Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers—an assortment of religious separatists and other lured by the promise of the New World. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims began the work of establishing a village they named as Plymouth . Thanksgiving at Plymouth in 1621 In 1621, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast in Plymouth that is today acknowledged as the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. The Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful and Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of Native American allies. However it wasn’t until 1863, during the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. Thanksgiving Meal In many Americ...