On the fourth Thursday of November, people in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving, a national holiday honoring (honor= τιμώ) the early settlers (άποικοι) and Native Americans who came together to have a historic harvest (συγκομιδή) feast.

Long before settlers came to the East Coast of the United States, the area was inhabited by many Native American tribes. The area surrounding the site of the first Thanksgiving, now known as southeastern Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island, had been the home of the Wampanoag people for over 12,000 years, and had been visited by other European settlers before the arrival of the Mayflower in 1620. The native people knew the land well and had fished, hunted, and harvested for thousands of generations.

THE SETTLERS

The people who comprised (αποτελώ) the Plymouth Colony (αποικία) were a group of English Protestants called Puritans who wanted to break away from the Church of England. These "separatists" (αυτονομιστές) initially (αρχικά) moved to Holland. But after 12 years of financial problems, they received funding (χρηματοδότηση) from English merchants (έμποροι) to sail across the Atlantic Ocean in 1620 to settle in a "New World." Carrying 101 men, women, and children, the Mayflower traveled the ocean for 66 days and was supposed to land where New York City is now located. But windy conditions forced the group to cut their trip short and settle at what is now Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

MODERN THANKSGIVING

In the 19th century, the modern Thanksgiving holiday started to take shape. In 1846, Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of a magazine called Godey’s Lady’s Book, campaigned (κάνω καμπάνια) for an annual national thanksgiving holiday. But it wasn't until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared (ανακοινώνω) two national Thanksgivings; one in August to commemorate (τιμώ, γιορτάζω) the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War, and the other in November to give thanks for "general blessings. (ευλογίες) " It's the second one that we celebrate today.