The Results of the Project

In collaboration with Yuliya Bondarenko 33ER

1. Report

The topic of the project is "Thanksgiving Day around the World".

The Essential Question of the project is: "How is Thanksgiving Day Celebrated around the World?".

HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING DAY

From ancient times, Native People of North America have held ceremonies to give thanks for successful harvests, for the hope of a good growing season in the early spring, and for other good fortune such as the birth of a child. Giving thanks was, and still is, the primary reason for ceremonies or celebrations.

As with Native traditions in America, celebrations - complete with merrymaking and feasting - in England and throughout Europe after a successful crop are as ancient as the harvest-time itself. In 1621, when their labors were rewarded with a bountiful harvest after a year of sickness and scarcity, the Pilgrims gave thanks to God and celebrated His bounty in the Harvest Home tradition with feasting and sport (recreation).

THE USA

Every year Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. This day was historically a religious observation to give thanks to the almighty God. The occasion traditionally celebrates the arrival of the first pilgrims to America.

This is a day of festivity, family reunions and lavish feasts. The traditional dishes like Roasted turkeys, Cranberry sauce, Corns. Potatoes and Pumpkin pie are included in the Thanksgiving meal.

A number of football games are played on Thanksgiving Day. Another tradition is the television broadcast of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And then sometime in the afternoon, the dinner table is set.

GERMANY

A religious holiday that often takes place on the first Sunday of October, Erntedankfest is essentially a harvest festival that gives thanks for a good year and good fortune. In rural areas, the harvest aspect might be taken more literally, but churches in cities also hold festivities. This might include a procession where one wears Erntekrone, a harvest crown made of grain, flowers, and fruit.

JAPAN

Kinrō Kansha no Hi is a national public holiday that Japan celebrates every November 23. Derived from ancient harvest festival rituals named Niinamesai, its modern meaning is more tied to a celebration of hard work and community involvement, hence its translation: Labor Thanksgiving Day. Kinrō Kansha no Hi was created officially in 1948. It was intended to celebrate the rights of workers in post-World War II Japan. Today it is celebrated with labor organization-led festivities, and children creating crafts and gifts for local police officers.

CANADA

Arising from the same European origins of harvest festivals that led to the United States's version, Canadian Thanksgiving—or, to its French-speaking citizens, l'Action de grâce—was first celebrated in 1578, when English explorer Martin Frobisher gave thanks for his fleet's safe travels in present-day Nunavut. Feasting on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn are common the weekend before. Vacations and parades are also traditional.

THE NETHERLANDS

Thanksgiving Day is important for the Dutch. Before heading to North America, the Pilgrims actually landed in Leiden in the Netherlands (where they ended up staying for 11 years). The people of Leiden still celebrate the American settlers who once lived there with a non-denominational church service on the fourth Thursday of November. An annual Thanksgiving Celebration held at the Pieterskerk, a Gothic church. Afterwards, there's no turkey, but cookies and coffee are offered.

CHINA

China’s mid-Autumn festival takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is at its brightest and roundest. The moon-worshipping festival, celebrated by the eating of mooncakes, which contain an egg yolk to symbolize the moon, has been celebrated in China for more than 2,500 years.

HAWAII

Long before the Puritans were sailing to Plymouth Rock, the native Hawaiians already had a festival of thanks. And they didn’t limit themselves to a single day. They celebrated a successful harvest for an entire season.

Thanksgiving became official in Hawaii 14 years before President Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday.

Now, of course, Thanksgiving is celebrated in Hawaii, along with the rest of the nation, and in much the same way, except they are as likely to imu (to cook using a pit oven) their turkeys as roast them.

LIBERIA

A variation on America's Thanksgiving can be found in the West African nation of Liberia, which was founded in the 19th century by freed slaves from the U.S. In the early 1880s, Liberian government declared the first Thursday of November as a national thanksgiving day. For Liberian people, it is a day to give thanks for their freedom and the foundation of their independent nation.

NORFOLK ISLAND

Like Grenada, this small and remote Pacific Island owes its Thanksgiving to contact with the U.S., specifically with its whalers in the mid-1890s. It began when American trader Isaac Robinson proposed decorating the All Saints Church with palm leaves and lemons, hoping to attract whalers to a Thanksgiving service/celebration. Though Robinson passed away before the following Thanksgiving, the tradition caught on. Now on the last Wednesday of November, families bring fruit and vegetables to the church to celebrate, tying cornstalks to pews, and decorating the altar with fresh flowers.

REFERENCE

1. William Bradford “Of Plymouth Plantation: S.E. Morison”, ed. Knopf. N.Y., 1952. p 90
2. Anna Matteo “Thanksgiving, a Traditional American Holiday” http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/american-celebrate-thanksgiving/2529775.html
3. “What Countries Celebrate Thanksgiving Day” http://thecountriesof.com/what-countries-celebrate-thanksgiving-day/
4. Kristy Puchko “How 7 Other Nations Celebrate Thanksgiving” http://mentalfloss.com/article/60261/how-7-other-nations-celebrate-thanksgiving
5. MarketWatch “Thanksgiving — in 8 other countries” http://www.marketwatch.com/story/thanksgiving-in-8-other-countries-2015-11-25
6. Chris Bailey “Hawaii’s Thanksgiving means much more than turkey” http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/blogs/hawaii_today/2008/11/26/thanksgiving_in_hawaii
7. Lauren Wilson “Thanksgiving in the Netherlands” https://www.thedailymeal.com/thanksgiving-netherlands
8. “THANKSGIVING DAY (USA)” https://www.calendarlabs.com/holidays/us/thanksgiving-day.php

2. Poster

3. PowerPoint Presentation

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-Ht7UrNLTuQQmNtbG5MdmlWa1E