How did Thanksgiving start?

Thanksgiving is a national holiday

celebrated in the USA and Canada as a day
for families and friends to get together for a
special meal. It is celebrated on the fourth
Thursday of November in the United States
and on the second Monday of October in
Canada. The meal often includes a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce,
gravy, pumpkin pie, and vegetables. Thanksgiving Day is a time for many people to
give thanks for what they have. Thanksgiving Day parades are also held in some
cities and towns. But how did this holiday start?

A traditional thanksgiving meal includes turkey!

A bit of history

The first Thanksgiving

took place in 1621, in
Plymouth, Massachussets,
where the European
colonists (often called
'Pilgrims') organised a
feast to thank the local
Indians for helping them
produce their first
successful corn harvest.
For more than two
centuries, different days of
thanksgiving were
celebrated by different
colonies and states. In
1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national
Thanksgiving Day to be held on the fourth Thursday of November.
 Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the traditional site of disembarkation of William
Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620.

Activities

1. Watch the video. Who are these people? Where are they? How did Thanksgiving
start?

Video link: https://youtu.be/faUYJ9fMiGg?si=mBpLGko4Z69PVXyu

2. Now read the text and check your answers to ex. 1

3. Answer these questions:

a) Where is Thanksgiving celebrated?

b) When is it celebrated?
c) What do people do on Thanksgiving?
d) What does a meal often include on that day?
e) When and where did the first Thanksgiving take place?
f) When did Thanksgiving become a national holiday?

4. What do the words in bold mean?

5. Write a short article about a national holiday in your country. Write about 100 –
150 words.

Think about:

 When and how is it celebrated?

 What happened on that day? When did it become a national holiday?