History of Thanksgiving in the United States

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​Εκπαιδευτικός: Γεωργιάδου Ησαία

​Celebrations
Thanksgiving Day
3rd Primary School of Pilea
English

​When is Thanksgiving celebrated?
How is Thanksgiving celebrated?

In the United States, Thanksgiving is a day for people to give thanks for what they have. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and it is a public holiday in more than 20 states. This holiday is often the busiest time of the year and many people take the day off to travel for the long four-day weekend to meet with their family and close friends for a very special meal.
This traditionally includes a roast turkey served with stuffing, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato pie topped with marshmallows, sweetcorn, squash, mashed potatoes, gravy and dinner rolls. The main course is then followed by a sweet pie which might be pumpkin pie, apple, cherry, blueberry or pecan, and it is served with whipped cream or ice cream.

Multiple Select

Which of the following sentences are True?

• Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated in more than 20 states.

• It is common to take trips and visit family and friends during the long weekend.

• The main course is typically a sweet pie: pumpkin pie, apple, cherry, blueberry or pecan served with ice cream

• Thanksgiving is an annual national holiday on the 2nd Thursday in November celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year

• There is no overcrowding at the holiday long weekend of Thanksgiving and it is very easy to travel during this time of the year in the US

Multiple Select

Which of the following sentences are True?

• Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated in more than 20 states.

• It is common to take trips and visit family and friends during the long weekend.

• The main course is typically a sweet pie: pumpkin pie, apple, cherry, blueberry or pecan served with ice cream

• Thanksgiving is an annual national holiday on the 2nd Thursday in November celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year

• There is no overcrowding at the holiday long weekend of Thanksgiving and it is very easy to travel during this time of the year in the US

​History of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day has been an annual holiday in the United States since 1863 when the President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of celebration for the holiday of Thanksgiving to promote unity among the split nation. Back in the mid-19th century there were tensions among the Northern states and the Southern states in the USA for different views on developing the economy of the country and soon a Civil War broke up. Southern white Americans also believed that letting the slaves free would destroy their economy. Northern white Americans, on the other hand, thought of slavery as morally wrong and wanted this to end. They had established efficient industries in the northern states and wanted to transform their country from agricultural to an industrial economy. Thanksgiving at that time marked an attempt to preserve the USA as one nation.
In fact, all presidents after Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be celebrated the last Thursday in November. Not all states, however, followed this proclamation until in 1942 Roosevelt issued a new proclamation for the holiday to be celebrated the fourth Thursday in November.

Open Ended

How did Thanksgiving become a national holiday?

Fill in the Blanks

• was the first president to issue a holiday proclamation for Thanksgiving in 1863

Fill in the Blanks

The Thanksgiving

was an official paper which announced the date that the holiday had to be celebrated by its people

Thanksgiving and American Indian Heritage Day

Despite the fact that Thanksgiving Day has been an annual holiday since 1863, not everyone saw it as a cause for celebration. Many people in the US Native American community still feel that the holiday ignores the destruction of indigenous cultures that followed European settlement. In 1970 groups of Native Americans have staged an annual protest for a National Day of Mourning at Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts on Thanksgiving Day. So American Indian Heritage Day is also observed at this time of the year to remind us of the loss of this culture. Nowadays, the holiday is not only associated with the Pilgrims and their fruitful settling in the New World. It is associated with the Native Americans and has come to symbolize intercultural peace, America's opportunity for newcomers and the holiness of home and family.

Multiple Select

American Indian Heritage Day is observed at the same time of the year with Thanksgiving because

• groups of Native Americans ignored the destruction of their culture

• the Native American community wanted everyone in the US to be reminded of the loss of their people and culture during and after European settlement

• the two holidays together come to symbolize intercultural peace and same opportunities for everyone

• ultimately everyone in America saw Thanksgiving as a cause for celebration and mourning too

Fill in the Blanks

European settlement was the cause of .......................................... of indigenous people and their .......................................

Multiple Choice

The first people to protest against the holiday of Thanksgiving were

• the Pilgrims

• the European settlers

• Indian Americans

• all people in America

• Charles Dickens

" Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all of men have some "