The Netherlands
Robert Walter Weir/DutchNewsThe embark of the Dutch Pilgrims.
The Dutch version of Thanksgiving is also directly related to the holiday we celebrate in the United States. When most people think of the origin of Thanksgiving in the U.S., they think of the British Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts aboard the Mayflower.
But the English Pilgrims weren’t the only ones who lept across the pond. Dutch Pilgrims joined their English counterparts on the journey.
The Speedwell ship left the city of Leiden in the Netherlands in 1620 and sailed to Southampton, England. There the vessel picked up the English Pilgrims and they traveled together to the Americas.
That connection to the Speedwell ship’s departure is still very strong in Leiden, which is why they celebrate American Thanksgiving on the same exact day.
Leiden’s residents gather in a 900-year-old church Pieterskerk and celebrate the Speedwell’s successful voyage to the Americas.
