U.S. History

Here’s what Pilgrim life was like around the first Thanksgiving.

Every year on Thanksgiving, Americans pause to give thanks for the many blessings in their lives. But as families take turns sharing what they’re grateful for, one group almost never gets their well-deserved recognition: the Pilgrims.

When the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621, their lives were nothing like those of modern Americans. The world was difficult, dangerous, and filled with uncertainty. Without their courage and determination, the Thanksgiving holiday Americans enjoy today might not exist at all.

The Mayflower

The year that led up to the first Thanksgiving feast was defined by hardship. The Mayflower, the vessel carrying the Pilgrims, set sail from Plymouth, England, on September 16, 1620. The group sailed for 66 days across the Atlantic Ocean, battling rough seas and dangerous storms in a 90-foot square-rigged sailing ship.

The Pilgrims finally reached America – otherwise known as the “New World” – on November 11, landing in modern-day Provincetown, Massachusetts. Roughly one month later, 102 men, women, and children went ashore at a nearby site known as Plymouth.

With winter fast approaching, the Pilgrims quickly gathered as many supplies as they could. While building their houses, many continued living aboard the Mayflower, where they dealt with cold, damp conditions that likely led to scurvy and pneumonia.

Pilgrims and Food

Forget enjoying an impressive main course surrounded by tasty side dishes. The Pilgrims didn’t have sugar, potatoes, butter, or ovens like those found throughout modern America. Their meals were whatever they could hunt or gather: mussels, fish, eels, nuts, and occasionally game meat. When the weather was bad or hunting didn’t go as planned, meals could get painfully small.

The Pilgrims didn’t starve, but their largely sea-dependent diet was high in salt, weakening their immune systems. During their first two months in America, as many as three Pilgrims died each day, and just 52 would make it to the first Thanksgiving.

In March 1621, four months after they made landfall, the Pilgrims met Squanto, a member of the Wampanoag people who spoke English. The meeting was a game-changer. With the help of local Native Americans, the Pilgrims learned to grow corn and fertilize their fields with fish.

Working 24/7

The Pilgrims hardly ever had time to relax – everyone was always hustling, including teenagers and young children.

With only the tools they brought on the Mayflower, the Pilgrims built shelters, tended fires, hauled water, hunted, fished, made clothes, cooked over open flames, and grew crops. Imagine doing all of that with limited tools, barely any food, constant sickness, and the threat of a hostile new land. That was daily life for the Pilgrims.

When the fall of 1621 arrived with the Pilgrims’ first successful harvest, it carried real weight. After months of hardship, loss, and exhausting work, the surviving Pilgrims had made it through their first year in the New World. The celebration that followed became the first Thanksgiving, a rare opportunity to stop, breathe, and be thankful simply to be alive.

1. Pilgrims traveled to America on the Mayflower, leaving Plymouth, England, on September 16, 1620.
2. America is also called the “New World.”
3. Nearly half of the Pilgrims died during their first year in America due to harsh conditions.