PLYMOUTH, Massachusetts – Most of us know that Pilgrims held the first Thanksgiving to celebrate miraculously surviving their first harsh winter in America. But another part of history is fairly unknown: an even more impressive miracle saved the Pilgrims and nearby Indian tribes just two years later.
That first winter of 1621 had really been a killer, wiping out 51 of the original 102 settlers in the Plymouth colony. But then their first crop thrived. In fact, they found they could grow five times as much on a plot of land here as on the same size plot back in England.
Why the First Thanksgiving Mattered
Pilgrim re-enactor Leo Martin told CBN News, “They thought that they ought to thank God for that. So they had a Thanksgiving.”
Martin and his wife, Nancy, run the faith-based Jenney Museum in Plymouth to keep the memory of the Pilgrim’s crucial faith alive.
The re-enactor related how the friendly Chief Massasoit brought 99 braves to the first Thanksgiving, which turned into a three-day celebration.
“They played games. They shot off guns. They had competitions and really bonded, which is very important because you have to understand that because hunters came here before the Pilgrims and captured Indians as
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