the traditional american thanksgiving day celebration goes back to 1621 in that year a special feast was prepared in Plymouth Massachusetts the colonists who had settled there had left England because they felt denied of religious freedom they came to the new land and faced difficulties in coming across the ocean the ship which carried them was called the Mayflower the north Atlantic was difficult to thavel there were bad storms they were assisted in leaning to live in the new land by the indians who inhabited the region