Thanksgiving – What Are You Thankful For?

Thanksgiving is a holiday primarily celebrated in the USA and Canada. As I’m now living in the United States we’re going to focus on the holiday here, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

Modern Thanksgiving traditions date back to 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the Pilgrims celebrated a good harvest with a three-day feast with local native Americans. President Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving to be a holiday in 1863. Before we look at who the pilgrims were, let’s take a look at some of the common themes.

Family

Thanksgiving is a time for family to get together. The Washington Post reports:

This Thanksgiving, 42.5 million people in the United States are expected to hit the road to visit family and friends, the highest number of holiday travelers since the start of the recession. About 3.4 million people are expected to fly.

Food

Thanksgiving centers around foods that were native to the New World, including Turkey. Wikipedia states:

Many Americans would say it is “incomplete” without cranberry sauce; stuffing or dressing; and gravy

American Football

American football is a large part of Thanksgiving, with virtually all teams at all levels playing on either Thanksgiving Day or the Holiday Weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

Parades

The most famous parade is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which is televised. Here is a video showing you what the parade is like:

Who Were the Pilgrims?

The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company’s interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast – including 91 natives who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true “thanksgiving” observance. It lasted three days.

Vocabulary and Grammar:

To hit the road - This means to go on a journey by car. There is song made very famous by Ray Charles called, “Hit the Road Jack” (video opens in new window). The chorus goes like this, “Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come no more.” In this case “hit the road” means to go away.

Fled their homes – “Fled” is the past tense of flee. It means to run away from danger.

To become disenchanted with the Dutch way of life – to become disenchanted means to to become disappointed with something, no longer believing that it is good. The Dutch way of life means the way the Dutch live their everyday lives.

Bountiful – abundant. The Pilgrims harvested a lot of food.

The Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the Pilgrims – See should have, would have, could have for a great explanation of what this means.

Discussion:

What are you thankful for and what have you been thankful for especially this year?

What is the most important holiday in your country? Is it a family holiday? What food is served? What other themes are involved?