Folklore of the United States memorialized on the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The holiday of Thanksgiving is said to have begun with the Pilgrims in 1621. They had come to America to escape religious persecution, but then nearly starved to death. Some friendly Native Americans (including Squanto) helped the Pilgrims survive through the first winter. The perseverance of the Pilgrims is celebrated during the annual Thanksgiving festival. George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799), the country's first president, is often said to be the father of his country. Apocryphal stories about Washington's childhood include a claim that he skipped a
Saint George's Day in England Saint George's Day in England Saint George is the patron saint of England in a tradition established in the Tudor period, based in the saint's popularity during the times of the Crusades and the Hundred Years' War. Veneration of the saint in folk religion declined in the 18th century, but attempts to revive celebration of Saint George's Day (23 April) as an expression of English culture and identity go back to the foundation Royal Society of St. George in 1894 and have more recently, since the beginning 2010s, resulted in Saint George's Day celebrations with aspects of a national holiday