The pilgrims
The pilgrims were a branch of the Puritans, and were proud of their family tree. They wore tall hats, which they had to take off when they went inside because they attended a low church. This displeased King James, who raised the roof. He demanded that they attend the same church as he did. At least this is his side of the story, which became known as the King James Version.
Although the King insisted, the Puritans, who were very stiff-necked from years of wearing truffles on their collars, stubbornly declined. They would probably still be declining if they had not left England and gone to Leyden, a city in Holland noted for the discovery of electricity in a jar. (Electricity was subsequently lost for a while, but was rediscovered, by accident, when Benjamin Franklin was told to go fly a kite, and did.)
While in Holland the Pilgrims suffered from pangs of sin, and sent their children to Dutch Reform Schools when they misbehaved. These children, naturally enough, became Protestants, but their protests were ignored.
The plymouth colony
After several years in Holland, the Pilgrims decided to set out for the New World. This decision to move is known as Pilgrims' Progress.
The ship on which they sailed was the Mayflower. In storming weather the women and children descended below the heaviny decks, thus becoming the Mayflower descendants. There they huddled with the Colonial Dames and other early settlers and passed the weary hours comparing genealogies.
It was a long and perilous voyage across the Atlantic. Several times they were blown off their course. But finally, in 1620, which was a doubly Memorable Year because it was also the year in which they set sail, they sighted the rocky coast. The rock on which they landed they called Plymouth Rock because it reminded them of another rock of the same name in England. They built a small picket fence around it and made it a national shrine.
The first four men ashore became our four fathers.
The first winter
After a short stay on Plymouth Rock, which was windy and damp, the Pilgrims sought a more sheltered place to build a town. One party went in one direction and one went in another. This was the beginning of the two-party system. When the two parties met, they held the first town meeting.
The first winter was cold, which was a distinct surprise to the Pilgrims. Indeed, they might not have survived but for the corn that was given them by friendly Indians. By a curious quirk of history, it has since become illegal for white men to give Indians either corn or rye.
One thing that helped the Pilgrims get through the winter was the economical practice of putting young men and women into bed together, fully clothed. This odd practice, known as bungling, was endured by the young people of the colony until the weather became milder and a sufficient supply of bed-warmers could be imported from England.
The next spring the crops were good, and in the Autumn the Pilgrims celebrated their first Thanksgiving, which fell, that Autumn, on a Thursday. The friendly Indians were invited, and the unfriendly Indians stayed in the background, muttering.