Thanksgiving Day

The American Thanksgiving began as a feast of thanksgiving almost four hundred years ago.

In 1620 a religious group (the Piligrims) sailed from Plymouth

(Great Britain) to the New World (the United States) across the Atlantic Ocean.

They settled in the state of Massachusetts.

Their first winter in America was difficult.

They had no houses or food.

Many of them died of cold and hunger.

The Iroquois Indians helped them.

They taught them how to grow com and how to hunt wild animals and fish.

The Piligrims met a new bird in America - a turkey.

In the autumn of 1621 they got a good harvest of com, barley, beans and pumpkins.

The colonists were thankful for their harvest to the local Indians.

They made a feast all together.

For many years Americans celebrated the harvest feast of thanks at any day they liked.

Later George Washington suggested the date - November 26 - as Thanksgiving Day. Abraham Lincoln changed it for the last Thursday in November.

Since then it is the official date of the holiday.

On Thanksgiving Day family members gather all together round a big table.

They give thanks to God for everything good they have.

The traditional thanksgiving meal consists of roast turkey stuffed with herb-flavored bread, cranberry jelly, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.

TEST

Thanksgiving is (1)_____________________ holiday. It is also (2) ___________________ Thanksgiving Day. It is celebrated on the fourth (3)_______________________ in November every year. It is (4) a_____________________ holiday to give thanks to God. Native Americans (5)____________________ the pilgrims how to fish (6) ____________________and eels. The Pilligrims learnt to grow corn and (7)_______________________. Abraham Lincoln made it a (8)_______________ holiday.

The (9) _____________________ activity of any Thanksgiving is the holiday (10)___________________. It is traditional to have roast (11)_____________________. There is mashed (12)_____________________, and (13) __________________ jelly. Pumpkin (14)___________________ is for dessert. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is favourite (15)________________ for travelling. Schoolchildren have (16)_____________________holidays. Grown-ups have got (17)______________________. In November people start their preparations for (18)_______________________. 

Put the correct words from this table into the text.