SAN DIEGO, November 26, 2013 — Thanksgiving Day in America is traditionally celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year.

President Franklin Roosevelt signed a joint resolution with Congress to establish this tradition on December 26, 1941.

For most Americans, Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family and friends, watch football, enjoy an extended weekend, and benefit from the discounts and bargains while holiday shopping on Black Friday.

For the Pilgrims who celebrated the original Thanksgiving Day in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, this occasion was an entirely different matter.

Arriving in America in the 1620’s having sailed on the Mayflower from England to America, the brave passengers were ravaged by disease and the brutal New England winter when they arrived.

Of the approximately over 100 Pilgrims, only half survived aboard the ship until the weather subsided.

Read more at The Washington Times Communities