1. Celebrations in the United States The 4th of July Halloween Thanksgiving

2. The 4th of July America´s Independence Day July 4th, 1776

3. Independence from England In the 1600s and 1700s, England established many colonies in North America. Some of these colonies were unhappy with the English government. 13 colonies fought a war for independence in the 1770s.

4. The Declaration of Independence On July 4th, 1776, the colonists declared independence from England. Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and many others signed an official Declaration of Independence.

5. Today, Americans celebrate their independence from England by watching fireworks…

6. …going to carnivals…

7. …and having cookouts with hamburgers, hot dogs, and watermelon.

8. Halloween All Hallow´s Eve, October 31st

9. All Hallow´s Eve Halloween is a very old holiday celebrated on the night before All Saint´s Day (or All Hallows). According to legend, the night before All Saint´s Day, evil spirits come to your house. In order to scare them away, you must also pretend to be an evil spirit!

10. Halloween Today American kids celebrate Halloween today by going “trick or treating.” They dress in scary costumes and go to all of their neighbors´ houses to get candy. Many families decorate pumpkins with scary faces. These pumpkins are called “Jack-o-Lanterns.” Nobody believes in evil spirits today, so Halloween these days is really just for fun!

11. Thanksgiving A Day of Giving Thanks

12. The Pilgrims In 1620, a small group of English settlers came to North America. They arrived in Massachusetts, but they did not know how to survive in the New World. Many of these “Pilgrims” died that winter.

13. The Indians The native Indians in Massachusetts were called the Wampanoags. The Wampanoags felt sorry for the small group of settlers. They showed the English Pilgrims how to plant corn, squash, and beans.

14. The First Thanksgiving In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims and the Indians celebrated the first Thanksgiving together. They were thankful for the harvest, as well as for their peaceful life together. They ate turkey, corn, pumpkin, and many other things.

15. Thanksgiving Today Relations between the English and the Wampanoags were not always peaceful. The Wampanoag culture was almost completely destroyed in war. But today, Americans still celebrate Thanksgiving to give thanks for the harvest and for their peaceful life. Americans gather with their families on the fourth Thursday in Novemeber, and they still eat traditional foods like pumpkin pie, turkey, and corn.