The Real Story
of Thanksgiving
Narrator
Characters
Captain Miles Standish — a Dutch military veteran, the captain of the
Mayflower (not a Pilgrim)
John Carver — one of the chiefmen, the first governor of the new settlement
William Bradford — one of the chiefmen, an English farmer, the 2nd governor
of Plymouth colony
Dr. Samuel Fuller — one of the Pilgrims, a medical doctor
Edward Winslow — one of the chiefmen, the first white man to meet Chief
Massasoit
John Robinson — the pastor of the Pilgrims
Samoset — an Indian from Maine, who spoke perfect English and interpreted
for Chief Massasoit
Squanto — an Indian from the Patuxets, was a slave, spoke English, became
a friend to the Pilgrims
Chief Massasoit — the Indian Chief who signed a 40-year peace treaty
with the Pilgrims
Susanna White — the second wife of Edward Winslow
William Brewster — an elder of the church and a temporary pastor
Narrator:
Thanksgiving is the oldest American holiday. It is a day set aside for the
purpose of thanking God for what He has done for us. The celebration of Thanksgiving
in America began with the Pilgrims, who settled in Plymouth colony over 380
years ago. They were a group of Christians from England.
The story of why the Pilgrims came to America began in England in the 1500's.
King James I declared that everyone who lived in England was automatically
a member of the State church, the Church of England, and that they must obey
all of the king’s orders. Although the king claimed to be a Christian,
many people disagreed with the king’s laws and would not obey, because
they thought that his laws disagreed with the Bible, which they believed to
be God’s Law. They believed that Christians must be loyal to God and
true to the Bible. Some of them were called Puritans because they wanted to
purify or reform the Church. Others wanted to separate themselves from the
Church completely, so they were called Separatists. The Separatists later
called themselves Pilgrims, which means, foreigners, aliens or wanderers.
The Pilgrims stopped attending worship services in churches and held services
in their homes, which the king did not tolerate. The Pilgrims were hunted
down as criminals, jailed and persecuted. Many of them left England and went
to Holland in 1607. Then in 1618, King James I decreed that all remaining
Pilgrims in England must conform to the Church or leave England. So, because
of religious persecution the Puritans and Pilgrims left England.
Though the Pilgrims had the freedom to worship God as they chose, they were
not happy in Holland. They were internationals and could not get good jobs,
and their children were beginning to speak Dutch instead of English. They
finally decided that God wanted them to sail to America to start their lives
all over again. In the summer of 1620, a group of Pilgrims set sail on a ship
called “The Mayflower”. There were 102 men, women and children
on board the ship headed for Jamestown, Virginia, where the Puritans had settled
earlier.
Nearly halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, an extremely violent storm caused
the ship to go off course. On November 9, 1620, they landed at Cape Cod, Massachusetts,
over 1000 miles north of Virginia. If they stayed there, they would be free
from the obligations to the New England Company in Jamestown. They decided
that the storm was God’s way of setting them free to govern themselves.
So they settled in Plymouth colony, and formed a new kind of self-government
based upon the Mayflower Compact.
2.
(It is November 9, 1620 when the Pilgrims land at Cape Cod, Massachusetts)
Captain Miles Standish: “Land, ho! We’ve found land! Look, Mr. Carver.”
John Carver: “Oh, how beautiful! Thanks be to our Almighty God in heaven. He has brought us safely to this place.”
Captain Miles Standish:
“Sir, you know that I am not a Christian, but I, too, thank your God
for keeping us safe in the terrible
storm last month. I thought that we might lose the ship.”
John Carver: “I
am sure that our God brought us to this land. He kept us safe while we were
in prison in England
under the persecution of the king. He was with us in Holland and He will be
with us in our new land.
We, Pilgrims, worship an Almighty God who is able to keep us wherever we are.”
Captain Miles Standish:
“Well, you will need a mighty God this winter. It is already November.
The weather will probably be
much colder here than it would have been in Virginia, Mr. Carver!”
William Bradford: “Captain Standish, where are we?”
Captain Miles Standish: “I’m not sure yet, but we will soon know. Let’s get ready to go ashore.”
William Bradford: “I
can’t wait to set foot on dry land again. Three months is a long time
to live on a ship with one
hundred other people. Praise God for bringing us here. I know it will be a
good place.”
John Carver: “Come,
Mr. Bradford, let’s get everyone together to thank God for our safe
arrival in our new land. We
will soon be building our new homes and planting our fields.”
(It is a few weeks later)
John Carver: “Thank you, Captain Standish, for allowing us to stay here on the Mayflower until we finished building our cabins. Winter is almost here, won’t you stay with us.”