THANKSGIVING, THE ALL-AMERICAN HOLIDAY

Thanksgiving is the most important festival in the USA tradition. It is the time of the year when all families gather around the table to celebrate the time when the first pilgrims arrived to America and to give thanks for all they have.

Thanksgiving is a four-day holiday for most US citizens. It starts on the fourth Thursday of November and continues through Black Fiday to the weekend. It is an occasion for families to get together for a few days.

The date for Thanksgiving was set by the country´s first president, George Washington, at his inauguration in 1789. The US Congress wanted to unite their nation in a day of celebration and prayer.

LET´S FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS AMERICAN FESTIVAL

Answer the following questions in your notebook:

Activity 1: The history of the Thanksgiving celebration:

Visit: www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving and read the first section entitled ‘Thanksgiving at Plymouth’. Look for the answers to these questions:

1. Who travelled on board the Mayflower and why?
2. Was their journey comfortable?
3. What route did their journey take?
4. What problems did the Pilgrims experience during their initial few months in New England?
5. Why was Squanto, a Native American, able to communicate in English with the Pilgrims?
6. What did the Pilgrims learn from Squanto?
7. Who were the Wampanoag and what was their relation to the Pilgrims?
8. Why did William Bradford organize a celebration?
9. What kind of food was eaten at the first Thanksgiving meal?
10. What differences are there between the Thanksgiving meal eaten by the Pilgrims and the one people eat today?

Activity 2: A traditional Thanksgiving meal
Visit: www.organicauthority.com/sanctuary/history-of-thanksgiving-table.html. Read the descriptions of typical Thanksgiving dishes and find the answers to these questions:

1. Which dish with an exotic background got a sweet addition in the twentieth century?
2. Which sweet nut dish has ancient origins?
3. Which food helped make a brand of soup more popular?
4. Which food is made from different ingredients, depending on the origins of the people cooking it?
5. Which food is very good for you and can be stored for a long period?
6. Which food made one woman very rich?
7. Which food got its name by mistake?
8. Which food probably wasn’t eaten at the first Thanksgiving meal because of lack of technology?

Activity 3: Thanksgiving traditions

Read about some typical traditions in North America at Thanksgiving  and check whether these sentences are true or false. Explain the false ones:  people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-other/thanksgiving5.htm 


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.

Activity 4: Discuss the following questions:

1. How much did you already know about the tradition of Thanksgiving?
2. What information surprised you?
3. What are the most important festivals and celebrations in your country or culture?

• How are they celebrated? What do people eat and drink?
• What are the origins of the celebrations? Have they changed over time?
• What celebration are you most looking forward to?

BLACK FRIDAY

If you are in New York, you can celebrate Thanksgiving by joining a parade like Macy´s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Macy´s, a large Manhattan department store, organises the parade with actors, bands and balloons.

On Black Friday, everyone goes shopping. It is the second biggest shopping day in the year
(December the 23rd is number one). Why black? Because shop owners make big profits and pay off their debts, so they are " in the black".

DO YOU FANCY COOKING A TYPICAL PUMPKIN PIE? HERE IS THE RECIPE:

PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE




Ingredients:

- 3 eggs
- half a cup of white sugar
- half a cup of brown sugar
- 1.5 cups of milk
- 600 gr of ground pumpkin
- half a teaspoon of cloves
- half a teaspoon of cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
- one teaspoon of lemmon extract

Instructions:

First beat the eggs and the white sugar together, then add the ground pumpkin and continue beating.

Now dissolve the brown sugar in the milk and the add this to the pumpkin mix.

Next add the spices and the lemon. Put the pastry crust in the pie pan and add the filling.

Bake in the oven at 180º C for 50 minutes.

Enjoy your pie!!