I don't believe the puritans were aware of what some Spanish settlers had done. By the way, it was the English who settled America, not the Spanish. I bet if we look hard, we can find some French as well as Dutch celebrations in America that we can imitate.
No one praises the Puritans for being anti-Catholic. Absolutely not. That's not why the holiday was started.
Last time I checked, the oldest permanent settlement in the continental U.S. was at St Augustine, FL in 1565. My guess is that ANYONE who made the perilous journey to get here celebrated and gave thanks once they made it. Probably still holds true today. Again, I was just trying to contribute some historical info.