Thanksgiving is a very American holiday. It is also called Thanksgiving Day. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November every year. It used to be a religious holiday to give thanks to God. There are two versions of the origins of this holiday. One is thanks for the early settlers arriving in America safely. On December the 4th, 1619, a group of English pioneers arrived at a place called Berkeley Hundred, in Virginia. The group made a promise that the day of their arrival should be a "day of thanksgiving" to God. The second version is the thanks given to Native Americans for teaching the pilgrims how to catch eels and grow corn in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1941, President Roosevelt made Thanksgiving a federal holiday.
The main event of any Thanksgiving is the Thanksgiving dinner. It is traditional to have baked or roasted turkey. This is usually accompanied with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, fall vegetables, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Pumpkin pie is the most commonly eaten dessert. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is one of the busiest times of the year for traveling. It is a four-day or five-day weekend vacation for most schools and colleges, and many businesses and government workers get three or four days off. Thanksgiving is also the unofficial signal for Christmas preparations to begin. Once Thanksgiving finishes, stores fill their shelves with Christmas goods. It is also a bad time to be a turkey.
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http://chagall-col.spip.ac-rouen.fr/IMG/didapages/thanksgiving/index.html
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/thanksgiving/elementary-thanksgiving-reading.html
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/thanksgiving/elementary-thanksgiving-gap-fill.html
http://www.isabelperez.com/hotpot/thanksgivn.htm Fill in the gaps with past simple verbs
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The first Thanksgiving: video
Watch the video about the First Thanksgiving and answer the questions below:
1. Why were many people unhappy in England around 400 years ago?
2. Why did they leave their country?
3. Where did they first go?
4. Why did they decide to go to America afterwards?
5. What was the name of the ship?
6. How many people were on board?
7. How was the journey?
8. How long was it?
9. How many people died by springtime? Why?
10. Who was Squanto?
11. What did he teach the Pilgrims?
12. Why did they decide to give thanks to God?
13. What food did they have for dinner?
14. Who did they invite?
15. What did they do before having dinner?
To print out
What is an American Thanksgiving really like?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30259320
1. What is the only thing you have to do this day?
2. Is Thanksgiving related to religion?
Thanksgiving traditions:
You will read about some typical traditions in North America at Thanksgiving. Before you read the information on the website, decide whether you think the statements below are true (T) or false (F).
1. Many people watch tennis at Thanksgiving every year.
2. Shops often sponsored Thanksgiving parades.
3. Washing neighbours’ cars is the most popular way to help others in the community at Thanksgiving.
4. The White House is given three turkeys each Thanksgiving – two are dead, and one is pardoned and not cooked.
5. The turkey that is kept is given a name chosen by the president’s family.
6. The president announces the official date of Thanksgiving every year.
💬Discussion
Are any of these traditions similar in your country?
Facts or Myths about Thanksgiving.THANKSGIVING IN CANADA
The history of turkey pardoning. video
👉 Questions
1. What organization has been giving turkeys to U.S. presidents for many decades?
2. According to the video, what is the problem with the claim that President Lincoln pardoned the first turkey?
3. What does the video say about the earliest records of turkey gifts to presidents?
4. Why does the video describe the tradition as more serious today than in the past?
5. What happens to the turkey after the president officially “pardons” it?
6. How does the narrator use humor to describe the turkey's point of view?
7. What does the video imply about the original purpose of giving turkeys to presidents?
8. How has the meaning of the turkey ceremony changed over time, according to the clip?
9. What type of place in Virginia do the pardoned turkeys go to live?
10. What emotional reaction is the video trying to create by inviting viewers to imagine being the turkey?
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## ✅ **Answers**
1. **The National Turkey Federation** has been giving turkeys to presidents for many years.
2. The video explains that **there is no official record** proving that Lincoln actually pardoned a turkey.
3. It says that **turkeys were gifted to presidents long before pardons began**, but there was **no mention of pardons** in those early records.
4. The ceremony is more serious today because **it has become an official tradition**, not just a simple gift.
5. The pardoned turkey **is sent to a turkey-friendly site in Virginia to live out its life**.
6. The narrator jokes about how the turkey **might feel nervous or scared**, making the situation humorous.
7. It implies the turkey gifts were **originally meant simply as food**, not for ceremony.
8. The meaning changed from **a practical gift** to **a symbolic and humorous presidential tradition**.
9. They go to **a special turkey-friendly farm or site** in Virginia.
10. The video wants viewers to feel **a mix of worry and relief**, imagining the turkey’s fear and then its rescue.
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING STORY USING THE WORDS THE TEACHER TELLS YOU.
Thanksgiving traditions: Readings
Traditions
B2.2-C1 The history of Thanksgiving
“One Thanksgiving when I was younger, I decided to ..."
________________________________________________Thanksgiving traditions: Readings
Traditions
B2.2-C1 The history of Thanksgiving
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