Thanksgiving in Rotterdam
The Pilgrim Fathers’ Church is one of the most interesting houses of worship I have ever visited.
One morning in March 2014, I left the SS Rotterdam—the cruise ship-turned hotel where I was staying—to meet my guide, who was slated to take me around Rotterdam for the day. Somehow, some prior communications with the city’s tourism office had slipped my mind, and I was surprised to find the guide with two bicycles. I had not cycled in years and had not dressed appropriately for hours of biking, but luckily it was, as they say, like riding a bike.
When I mentioned that I report often on religion, the guide asked if I wanted to see a church he attended. I am glad I said yes, because it turned out to be one of the most interesting houses of worship I have ever visited. (I returned in 2016—the same year my article “The Centuries-Old Netherlands Church Celebrating American Thanksgiving” ran in Atlas Obscura.)
Years later, I still remember the church well. It was the last place the pilgrims prayed before they set sail in the Speedwell, which, when it leaked, they abandoned for the Mayflower. The place felt like an unofficial U.S. embassy in Holland. Given the pilgrim connection, several Massachusetts churches had sent plaques, which the church displays, and a church in Chicago—which burnt in the great fire—swapped stones with the Rotterdam church. After the Chicago church went up in smoke, the only remaining trace of it is now at the Pilgrim Fathers.
And then in a back room, a video presentation noted that former President George W. Bush is a direct descendent of the pilgrims. During the subsequent presidency, someone affixed a small portrait of then-President Barack Obama to a wall text, noting he too descended from the pilgrims. (It struck me then as one of few places where President Obama was a footnote, which President Bush overshadowed.)
Since visiting the church for the first time, I have read a good deal more about its history and have spent time in Leiden, home to more sites (and a museum) relevant to the pilgrims. Every November, I am reminded of how much more nuance there is to the Thanksgiving story than I had previously known.
Here again is the link to the Atlas Obscura article for those who are interested. Happy Thanksgiving!
Fascinating! I have never thought, once, about where the pilgrims who landed in Massachusetts had set sail from, much less where they held their final prayer service in their homeland.
This is both a timely and rather engaging post (and article). I wish I had read the linked Atlas article before my Rotterdam visit. Rather informative, and tactful about modern US presidents.