All of these thanksgiving celebrations happened before the Pilgrims had their feast:
APRIL 3, 15 13 Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon celebrated a day of thanks when he landed in what is now Florida.
SEPTEMBER 8, 1565 Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles held a thanksgiving service when he founded St. Augustine in Florida.
APRIL 20, 1598 The group of Spaniards led by Don Juan de Oñate gave thanks. They had survived a 350-mile trip from Mexico to a spot near what is now El Paso, Texas. With the Pueblo people, they feasted on roasted geese, ducks, and fish, along with local vegetables and cactus fruit.
DECEMBER 4, l619 A group of Virginia settlers is said to have held their colony's first thanksgiving service. They gave thanks for their safe arrival in Virginia.