It sounds unlikely, yet it is true. One of America’s most beloved holidays has a surprising connection to a small Dutch city where the Pilgrims lived long before they ever set foot on American soil. Their story is usually told as an English tale that continues in Massachusetts, but a very important chapter took place in Leiden, the Netherlands.
The Dutch chapter
When the Pilgrims fled England in search of religious freedom, they did not head west. They first sailed east and settled in the Netherlands. From 1609 to 1620 they lived in Leiden, a tolerant and lively city where people from many cultures lived side by side. They worked in textile mills, studied at the Leiden university, raised their children, and became part of daily Dutch life.
Leiden left a deep mark on them. They lived in a city shaped by cooperation, civic responsibility, and an unusually open mindset for its time. Their children attended Dutch schools and grew up speaking the language. They joined seasonal harvest gatherings where neighbours celebrated the end of the growing season with shared meals and a sense of gratitude.
They also witnessed something even livelier. Every year on the third of October, Leiden celebrated the Relief of 1574 when the city was freed from the Spanish siege during the Eighty Years’ War. The whole city came together for parades, music, and the tradition of eating hutspot. For the Pilgrims, who had spent years searching for safety and stability, these celebrations showed how powerful a united and grateful community could be. These Dutch experiences stayed with them long after they set sail for the New World.
Harvest traditions they took with them
Thanksgiving did not simply appear out of thin air in 1621. The idea of marking the harvest with a shared meal was familiar to the Pilgrims from their Leiden years. Dutch autumn gatherings often included a moment of gratitude and a sense of community. When the Pilgrims later celebrated their successful harvest in Plymouth, the spirit of those Dutch traditions may well have been part of the inspiration.
A journey that began in Delfshaven
When they finally decided to leave for the New World, the Pilgrims travelled from Leiden to the harbour of Delfshaven, nowadays part of Rotterdam. There they boarded a small ship called the Speedwell, which took them to England. Only after that leg of the journey did they join the Mayflower. The Pilgrim Fathers Church in Delfshaven still commemorates this departure and remains a quiet reminder of the Dutch link to an American tradition.
The Embarkation of the Pilgrims 1843, Robert Walter Weir, Capitol Rotunda
A shared legacy
Today Thanksgiving is unmistakably American. It is a celebration of gratitude, togetherness, and the passing of the seasons. Yet the origins of this holiday are richer and more international than many realise. Part of its spirit was shaped in a Dutch city where the Pilgrims spent eleven formative years learning, growing, and adapting before their famous voyage. We are offering private tours in Leiden to visit the places where the Pilgrim fathers lived.
Left Pieterskerk Leiden, where the Pilgrims lived, right the plaque at the side of the church
So next time someone sits down for turkey and pumpkin pie, you can smile and say that Thanksgiving is not only American. It also carries a little touch of Leiden woven into its history.
If this piece of history has sparked your curiosity about the Netherlands and the towns the Pilgrims once called home, our private tours through Holland and the Netherlands explore the historic cities, waterways and stories that shaped one of the world’s most influential small nations.
