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Every Culture has their own traditions. Some traditions date so far back that people, of that culture, are sometimes not able to determine and discover the roots of a particular tradition. The European settlements in America is not documented to date back further than the 1400's, and the short -term settlements of the Vikings, are believed to have occurred in the 11th Century. Most roots of the American Culture's traditions are documented in early journals, history records. Therefore, they could be traced in oder to validate some of the facts and myths of a certain tradition.

Thanksgiving is one of those traditional holidays, the roots of which could be traced to the initial English settlements and colonies in North America. In 1621, the English colonists are believed to, peacefully, shared an Autumn harvest feast with the Wampanoag Indians. That celebration is recognized today, as the beginning of the Thanksgiving tradition in America. However, there are also records written by historians of other occasions where colonists gave their Thanks to God for any specific event. For example, in December 1619, at Berkeley Plantation, Virginia, by the Charles River, a group of English settlers, led by Captain John Woodlief, knelt for a prayer and a pledge of " Thanksgiving" to God, as a thank you for their safe trip to America. Some historians believe that to be the "first" Thanksgiving. Both the British, and the Indians had celebrations of the harvest sometime in the Autumn. Those celebrations were repeated, but they were not referred to as "Thanksgiving". To the British, "Thanksgiving" was a different holiday, during which they would go to church and thank God for the blessings that he has brought upon the people. The first feast of the Pilgrims and the Indians together, was not repeated as a tradition thereafter, and it took place sometime between September 21, and November 11, 1621. The original feast lasted 3 days, and was probably a celebration of harvest, which was traditionally celebrated in England around September 29th. After the initial harvest, the Plymouth Colonists and the Indians who lived close by, shared a day of Thanksgiving and prayer, which was proclaimed by Governor William Bradford. In 1623, during a drought in New England, a day of fasting and prayer had turned into a day of Thanksgiving, because it began to rain while people were praying. Over an extended period of time, people began to celebrate Thanksgiving every year after the harvest.

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