【单选题】

ThanksgivingDay is an annual holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November, and it is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country.

In 1620, the settlers, or pilgrims, sailed toAmerica on the Mayflower seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship.After a tempestuous two-month voyage they landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts on an icy November morning.During their first winter over half of the settlers died of starvation, cold or epidemics.
The following spring, the pilgrims were befriended by some nativeAmerican Indians who taught them which of the wild vegetation was safe to eat. The Indians also showed them how to plant corn and other vegetables.
All summer long the colony people waited for the harvests with great anxiety, knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colony depend on the coming harvest. Finally the fields produced a yield rich beyond expectations.And therefore it was decided that a day of thanksgiving be fixed, to thank the Lord as well as the NativeAmericans.
The first national ThanksgivingDay was proclaimed by President George Washington and was celebrated on the 26th day of November in 1789. In 1863, PresidentAbraham Lincoln revived the custom and made Thanksgiving an annual (moveable) holiday to be celebrated on the fourth/last Thursday of November. For three years (1939-1941), under President FranklinD、Roosevelt, the day was celebrated on the third Thursday in November. In 1941,Congress returned Thanksgiving to its original day, and the celebration of it has been observed on that date until today.
The pattern of the thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years. The big family dinner is planned months aheaD、On the dinner table, people will find apples, oranges, chestnuts, walnuts and grapes. There will be plums, pudding, mince pie, cranberry juice, squash and other varieties of fooD、The best and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie.Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffed with a bread dressing to absorb the tasty juices as it roasts.But as cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives, it is not easy to get a consensus on the precise kind of stuffing for the royal birD、
Thanksgiving today is in every sense a national holiday on whichAmericans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express their thanks for the year’s bounty and reverently ask for continued blessings.
Why did the pilgrims sail away from their native landA．To avoid racial discrimination.
B．To escape religious persecution.
C．To keep up theBritish seafaring tradition.
D．To start a adventurous journey.