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Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated in the United States of America and Canada. It is not celebrated in England or the rest of the United Kingdom.
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Thanksgiving • Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated in the United States of America and Canada. • It is not celebrated in England or the rest of the United Kingdom. • Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in America. • This year in Canada Thanksgiving was 10th October and in America it will be 24th November.
Thanksgiving in North America originated from a mix of European and Native traditions. • In Europe, festivals were held before and after the harvest to give thanks for a good harvest, and to celebrate after all the hard work with the rest of the community. • Native Americans also celebrated the end of a harvest season. • When Europeans first arrived to the Americas, they brought with them their own harvest festival traditions from Europe, celebrating their safe voyage, peace and good harvest.
Thanksgiving in Canada • The origin of the first Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to the explorer, Martin Frobisher. • He had been trying to find a trade route that went through the Americas in the North of the Pacific Ocean. (This is now called the Northwest Passage.) • Frobisher's Thanksgiving celebration was not for harvest, but in thanks for surviving the long journey from England through the dangerous storms and icebergs. • On his third and final voyage to the Americas in 1578 Frobisher held a ceremony and feast to give thanks to God for his safe journeys. • The tradition of a feast continued as more settlers began to arrive to the Canadian colonies.
The distance between England and Canada is roughly 4000 Kilometres!
Thanksgiving in America • The event that Americans call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims to give thanks to God for guiding them safely to the New World. • The Pilgrims came from Europe and first arrived in America on December 11, 1620, not prepared for the winter they were to face. • Out of the 102 who arrived on the boat, the Mayflower, 46 of the people died during the first months. Despite this, they had a good harvest because the Native Americans helped them. • The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days, providing enough food for 13 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans. • The feast consisted of fish, clams, lobster, mussels, ducks, geese, swans, turkey, berries, fruitand vegetables (peas, pumpkin, beetroot), grainsand beans.
The modern Thanksgiving Day comes from this feast in 1621. • A man called Squanto, a Native American, taught the Pilgrims how to catch animals and grow crops and was an interpreter for them. • Squanto had learned English while enslaved in Europe and during travels in England. • Squanto’s Tribe had also donated food stores to the new colony during the first winter when supplies brought from England were insufficient. • The Pilgrims set apart a day to celebrate immediately after their first harvest in 1621. • They included the Native America Tribe in this to thank them for their help.
Modern Day • Thanksgiving has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving. • Since 1947, the National Turkey Federation has presented the President of the United States with one live turkey and two dressed turkeys, in a ceremony known as the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation.
Thanksgiving Food • Thanksgiving dinner, traditionally features turkey as this was served at the “First Thanksgiving”. This is why the President is given turkeys. • Certain kinds of food are traditionally served at Thanksgiving meals. Roasted turkey is usually the main item on any Thanksgiving feast table (Thanksgiving is sometimes referred to as "Turkey Day"). • Stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, various autumn vegetables and pumpkin pie are common for Thanksgiving dinner. • All of these are actually native to the Americas or were introduced as a new food source to the Europeans when they arrived. • The less fortunate are often given food at Thanksgiving time. Most communities collect foods and give them to charity.
Giving Thanks • The tradition of giving thanks to God is continued today in various forms. Various religious organisations such as the Church offer services and events on Thanksgiving themes the weekend before, the day of, or the weekend after Thanksgiving. • At home, it is a tradition in many families to begin the Thanksgiving dinner by saying grace (a prayer before a meal). This is normally to give thanks for the food which is about to be eaten.
Parades • Since 1924, in New York City, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held every Thanksgiving Day. • There are parade floats with themes, large balloons, cartoon characters, TV personalities, and marching bands. • The float that traditionally ends the Macy's Parade is the Santa Claus float. This is an unofficial sign of the beginning of the Christmas season.
American Football • American football is one of the many traditions in American culture that is associated with Thanksgiving Day. • Every level of American football, from amateur and high school to college and the NFL, plays football on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday) or the immediately following weekend.
