Thanksgiving

As you probably already know, we have a holiday coming up at the end of November.  Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Now

Thanksgiving takes place every year on the 4th Thursday in November.  This year, it will be on November 28th.  It is typically celebrated by getting together with family and eating a large holiday meal.  People talk about what things they are thankful for.  They eat turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, potatoes, yams, and vegetables for dinner and pumpkin pie for dessert.

Thanksgiving is also a time when college students come home to visit their families.  Universities usually end classes early on the Wednesday before thanksgiving and students go home for a long weekend.

Sometimes families do volunteer work or invite other people over for the holiday meal.  This is because Thanksgiving is also a time for sharing the good things you have.

How Thanksgiving Started

Thanksgiving is a celebration of plenty.  It's a celebration of the good things we have, including food, family, friends, and good fortune.

Throughout history, many people have had celebrations of harvest.  This means when the crops are ready to eat, and before winter weather makes it too cold to grow things, we should celebrate the rewards of the hard work we've done to grow the plants.

In America, the first Thanksgiving celebration took place around the year 1621.  It was a celebration of a successful harvest.  The people who came were Pilgrims and American Indians.

Pilgrims are people who came to America from England.  They wanted to come to a new country because they were not free to practice their religion where they lived.

American Indians are the people who lived in America before people from Europe arrived.  They knew what plants they could grow and eat and what animals lived in the area.  Without their help, the pilgrims would not have survived.

What "Thanksgiving" Means

The word "Thanksgiving" comes from the idea of giving thanks, or saying "thank you".  This is about being thankful for the good things you have.  The Pilgrims were very religious, so they gave thanks to God for their harvest, their luck, and the good things they had.

Today, Thanksgiving is a religious and secular (not religious) holiday.  Some people thank God for the good things they have, and other people thank each other or just focus on being grateful and celebrating what they have.

Language

thankful for (st.)  - adj
give thanks for (st.)    - v i.
grateful for (st.)   - adj.

Thanksgiving at the ELI

For us at the ELI, Thanksgiving means we have a few days off!  Classes and tutoring will end at 3:30pm on Wednesday.  We have no classes on Thanksgiving day or the Friday after.  We will take a trip to the Lancaster shopping outlets on Friday (Black Friday Shopping Trip).  Happy Thanksgiving!

Tell us: What are you planning to do during Thanksgiving break?