In the United States, the fourth Thursday in November is called Thanksgiving Day. On this

day, Americans give thanks for the blessing they have enjoyed during the year. Thanksgiving is usually a family day celebrated with big dinners and happy reunion.

The first American Thanksgiving was held in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621.

It was in September of 1620 that the Puritans, or Pilgrims as they called themselves, left England aboard the Mayflower in search of religious freedom. After 65 days at sea, they landed in Province town Harbor, inside the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

For about a month, the Pilgrims lived aboard ship and then sailed to Plymouth Harbor.

The Pilgrims were not trained and equipped to cope with life in the wilderness. During their first winter, they suffered tremendously. Hard work, diseases, bitterly cold weather, and insufficient food killed about half of them. By the end of this terrible first winter, only about 50 Plymouth colonists remained alive.

In spring 1621, the Indians of Massasoil's tribe taught the Pilgrims how to hunt, fish, and grow food. They taught the Pilgrims to use fish for fertilizer when growing corn, pumpkins, and beans. Because of this help from the Indians, the Pilgrims had a good harvest.

William Bradford, the governor chosen by the Pilgrims, was following an ancient tradition when, in the fall of 1621, he established a day of Thanksgiving to God. He invited Chief Massasoil and his men to share the Thanksgiving feast.

The Indians gladly accepted and sent deer meat for the feast. The Pilgrim men went hunting and returned with turkey and other wild animals. The women of Plymouth prepared delicious dishes from corn, berries, squash and pumpkins.

The first Thanksgiving dinner was cooked and served out-of- doors. Although it was late autumn, huge fires kept the hosts and guests warm.

Many of the traditions of the modern American Thanksgiving come from that first Thanksgiving celebration. Today's Thanks giving turkey is much like the ones that were hunted in the forests around Plymouth. Squash and corn, which were also harvested by the early Pilgrims, appear on the Thanksgiving table. Pumpkin pie is a traditional Thanksgiving dessert.

Every year, about 500,000 Americans take a journey into early American history by visiting Plymouth, a modern city that respects its past. In Plymouth Harbor, sightseers tour Mayflower Ⅱ, a recently built ship similar to the original Mayflower. Then they spend a few hours walking through a reproduction of the original Pilgrim village. Modern Americans take great pride in these courageous ancestors who had so little by today's standards, but who were thankful for receiving the things they valued most--a good harvest and the freedom to live and worship as they pleased.

The present passage is probably taken from ______.

A．a geography book

B．a book about customs

C．a travel book

D．a book about the American way of life