Most of us
have heard about Thanksgiving
but may not be quite familiar with it
like when is Thanksgiving?
Which countries celebrate it?
And Why do they have thanksgiving?
Today we are going to take a deep look
at its history and celebration
First, Thanksgiving is celebrated
only by two countries in the world
They are the United States and Canada
but they celebrate it
on different dates
In the United States
people celebrate thanksgiving
on the fourth Thursday of November
In other words
the last Thursday of November
And in Canada
Thanksgiving is celebrated
on the second Monday of October
The history of thanksgiving in Canada
is quite short
It has become an official holiday
until 1957
but Thanksgiving in the United States
has a long history
It has been an official holiday
since 1863
So what is thanksgiving?
Historically it is to say
thanks for giving the harvest
In 1620
the cargo ship Mayflower transported
102 Englishmen, women and children
to the new world
Some of them were separatists
They were a group of people
who had religiously separated themselves
from the church in England
and wanted to come to the new world
to find religious freedom
These people were also called pilgrims
The Mayflower ship
arrived at the new world
in December 1620
They arrived
in the state of Massachusetts
It was winter
and the circumstances were harsh
Nearly half of the people died
and those who did not feel ill
In the Spring of the next year
the situation became better
Several local Indians visited this place
and offered a hand to them
They taught them
how to use fish as fertilizer
to grow crops on sandy land
Some even chose to live with them
for better help
By November
things were looking up for pilgrims
They had survived
the first year in the new world
and had successful harvests
to continue living there
The pilgrims collected their harvests
which could include
corn, pumpkins, squash and some grain
They caught fish and wild birds
to feast on celebration
They invited the local Indians
to join their celebration
and the celebration lasted for 3 days
For the pilgrims
the celebration
was not for the start of a new holiday
It was a common harvest festival
much like the ones held in Europe
every fall after a good harvest
Thanksgiving as we know today
was made possible
largely by the efforts
of a 19th century writer
named Sara Joseph Hale
She was the America's first
female magazine editor and
the author of a famous nursery rhyme
Mary had a Little Lamb
During the civil war
Hale was convinced that
a national thanksgiving day
would awaken in American hearts
the love of home and country
of thankfulness to God
and peace between brethren
She wrote letters to governors
and even to President Abraham Lincoln
A few days after receiving her letter
on October 3rd 1863
President Lincoln had declared
the last Thursday of November
as Thanksgiving Day
In modern days
people travel back home
for reunions with their families
For Thanksgiving dinner
they often eat turkey, stuffing
mashed potatoes with gravy
sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn
turnips, rolls and pumpkin pie
Football is another tradition
during Thanksgiving celebrations
in the United States
It could be traced back to 1934
The Detroit Lions
came up with an idea of
holding Thanksgiving Day football game
in order to boost audience attendance
It turned out to be very successful
They sold out 26 thousand tickets
in two weeks
After that
it became a tradition
all over the country
that Thanksgiving day
became the day to play football
For those
who aren't football fans however
may opt to spend the time
enjoying watching Macy's Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
is an annual parade presented by
the department store Macy's
The tradition started in 1924
Macy's Department Store
started their Thanksgiving Day Parade
which headed
down to the streets of New York
and ended at the store
The tradition has been going on
for over 80 years
In the modern day
the Parade has floats
huge character balloons
hundreds of crowns
acrobats and cheerleaders
It attracts thousands of people
to watch
The parade lasts three hours
starting at 9:00 am
and has been televised nationally
on NBC since 1952
So much for the Thanksgiving
Next, let's take a quiz
If you have the difficulty
please watch the video again
and I hope this will help you
learn better in the class
Thank you !