THANKSGIVING How is Thanksgiving celebrated in America?

In 1620, one hundred people sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to land at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in America. However, their first winter was very bad and their crops failed. Many of them died.

The people who survived were saved by Indians (also called Native Americans) of the Iroquois tribe taught them how to grow corn (maize) and other crops.

In the next autumn, 1621, they harvested crops of corn, barley, beans and pumpkins. The settlers had much to be thankful for, so a feast was planned. They invited the Iroquois chief and his tribe for this feast.

The Indians brought turkeys and other wild game for the settlers. The feast consisted of cranberries, corn, turkey and deer, along with dishes taught by the Indians.

The official date has been changed a number of times but it is now on the fourth Thursday of November.

Americans have a meal with their family, and talk about things they are thankful for. More people go home and see their family for Thanksgiving than they do for Christmas.

Americans often decorate the dinner table with a nice centrepiece. The meal includes the foods that the first settlers ate such as Turkey, cranberries, corn, sweet potatoes, and string beans.

Because Thanksgiving is held in the American autumn (which they call Fall), the decorations have an autumn theme.

REFERENCES     My Grandma  Celebrate! USA by Robyn Hardman (Ashburton Library)  The Complete Idiots Guide to American History by Alan Axelrod (Ashburton Library)  Google Images