The Pilgrims were a very small group of early English settlers in the New World colonies. They had broken away from the Church of England because they disagreed with the Church's laws. They came to the New World to be allowed to worship in their own way.

The word "pilgrim" means "traveler", and the Pilgrims were given that name by William Bradford. Bradford was the second Governor of the group that settled in the Plymouth Colony.

We have the Pilgrims to thank for the Thanksgiving feast we enjoy every year in November. After surviving the harsh first winter, the pilgrims learned to live in the wilderness with the help of friendly Native American people. They invited these Native Americans to share a feast they had made from the colony's first harvest. They didn't call it "Thanksgiving", however, but "Harvest Home" after an old English holiday.

Their menu was similar to ours today except that there is no record of turkey being served. They feasted on deer, duck, clams and oysters, corn and cornbread, squash, wild berries, beer and wine. Their feast went on for three days not one, as we do.

Because of their rebellion from the Church of England, and their difficult adjustments to the New World, PILGRIMS represent the hardy early colonial settler and the ideal of religious freedom.