Thanksgiving is almost here — this year it falls on November 26 – and it’s about much more than turkey and pie. It’s America’s grateful feast, a day for families to pause and say what they’re thankful for.
In this video, Moonbow Kids tells the true story of Thanksgiving in a simple way children can follow: how the feast began, who shared it, and why gratitude is still the heart of the holiday.
What Really Happened at the First Thanksgiving?
More than 400 years ago, in 1621, English settlers in Plymouth and their Wampanoag neighbors shared a harvest feast that lasted three days. The settlers were thankful for a good harvest after a hard first year, and the Wampanoag people had helped them learn to grow food in the new land. That feast of thanks is where Thanksgiving began — and the spirit of sharing and gratitude is what we still celebrate today.
3 Easy Gratitude Activities for Kids
Try one of these at home or in the classroom this week:
- Gratitude jar: every day until Thanksgiving, each person writes one thing they’re thankful for on a slip of paper and drops it in a jar. Read them aloud at the table on Thanksgiving Day.
- Thank-you notes: help your child write or draw a short thank-you note to someone who helped them this year — a teacher, a grandparent, a friend.
- One thankful thing: go around the table and let everyone share one thing they’re grateful for. Even little kids can join in.
The Journey Before the Feast: The Mayflower Story
Long before the first Thanksgiving feast, there was a long and difficult voyage. In 1620, a ship called the Mayflower carried 102 passengers across the Atlantic Ocean from England. The journey took 66 days — more than two months of wind, waves, and seasickness. The passengers were a mix of families seeking religious freedom and others hoping for a fresh start, and they called themselves Saints and Strangers. Before stepping ashore, the men aboard signed an agreement called the Mayflower Compact, promising to make fair laws and work together — one of the first examples of self-government in America. Their first winter was terribly hard, and many did not survive. But with the help of their Wampanoag neighbors, including a man named Tisquantum — known as Squanto — who taught them to plant corn using fish as fertilizer, the settlers learned to grow food in the new land. That friendship and that harvest made the first Thanksgiving possible.
How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday
Thanksgiving was not always a national holiday. For many years, different states celebrated days of thanks on different dates. Then a writer and editor named Sarah Josepha Hale — who also wrote the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb” — spent years writing letters to presidents, asking them to make Thanksgiving a holiday for the whole country. In 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln agreed, and he proclaimed the last Thursday of November a national day of thanksgiving. Almost eighty years later, in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a law fixing Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November — the date we still celebrate today.
Thanksgiving Traditions Kids Know and Love
Every family has its own Thanksgiving traditions, but some are shared across the country. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has marched through New York City since 1924, with giant balloons, floats, and marching bands — millions watch it on television every year. Football is another big tradition: professional and college teams have played games on Thanksgiving for more than a hundred years. Many families also watch the presidential turkey pardon, when the president of the United States “pardons” a live turkey, sparing it from the dinner table. And for lots of families, Thanksgiving is a day to help others — volunteering at a food bank, donating a meal, or inviting someone who would otherwise be alone. That spirit of sharing goes all the way back to the harvest feast of 1621.
Thanksgiving Foods: Then and Now
The menu at the first Thanksgiving looked very different from ours. The Wampanoag and the settlers probably ate venison (deer meat), wild birds like duck and goose — and maybe turkey — plus corn, beans, squash, fish, and shellfish. There was no pumpkin pie: the settlers had no wheat flour or ovens for baking, and no butter or sugar the way we know them. Cranberries grew wild, but sweet cranberry sauce as we know it came much later. Today’s Thanksgiving table usually has roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin or apple pie. A fun classroom activity is to make a “then and now” menu: draw two plates, fill one with 1621 foods and one with today’s favorites, and spot the differences.
More Thanksgiving Activities for Class or Home
Here are a few more ways to celebrate the season of thanks:
- Handprint turkeys: trace little hands on brown paper, add feathers, eyes, and a beak, and write one thing you are thankful for on each feather.
- Thankfulness chain: cut strips of autumn-colored paper, write one thank-you on each, and link them into a chain to hang across the classroom.
- Interview a grandparent: ask an older relative what Thanksgiving was like when they were a kid, and share one story you learned.
- Placemats with a purpose: decorate paper placemats with drawings of things you are grateful for, and use them at the Thanksgiving table.
- Food drive: collect cans and boxes for a local food bank, so every family can enjoy a holiday meal.
Questions Kids Ask About Thanksgiving — Answered Simply
Who were the Pilgrims? — The Pilgrims were English settlers who sailed to America on the Mayflower in 1620. They wanted the freedom to practice their religion, and they built a new settlement called Plymouth.
Who were the Wampanoag? — The Wampanoag are Native American people who had lived in the region for thousands of years. They taught the settlers how to grow corn and fish, and they shared the harvest feast of 1621.
Why do we eat turkey on Thanksgiving? — Wild turkeys lived in the area, and turkey became a traditional centerpiece over the years. It is big enough to feed a whole family, which makes it perfect for a feast.
Why is Thanksgiving always on a Thursday? — President Lincoln chose the last Thursday of November in 1863, and in 1941 the date was fixed by law as the fourth Thursday of November.
Keep Exploring November
For more November fun, watch our November collection of fun facts for kids — including birth flowers, birthstones, and more seasonal stories:
Happy Thanksgiving from Moonbow Kids — and don’t forget to tell someone what you’re thankful for today.