THANKSGIVING

It is the fourth Thursday in November
                                                                      

                                        
                                                     ( powerpoint by ABBY)

In September 1620, a group of English people called The Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Plymouth, England across the Athlantic Ocean, in a ship called the Mayflower, to Cape Cod in North America. They went away from England because they didn't agree with the religion in England. They wanted to make a new life in a new country.

When they arrived, they called their new home New England., but they were not the first people to live there. The Wampanoag were the first people.The Wampanoag taught them to grow and cook new kinds of fruit and vegetables. The first winter was difficult. Many of the Pilgrim Fathers died because it was very cold and they had little food. In the spring they started to grow food, with the help of some friendly Wampanoag, and in the autumn of 1621 they celebrated their first harvest. They gave thanks, not only for the harvest, but for their new home, new life and new friends.

In 1863 during The Civil War, President Lincoln declared a national THANKSGIVING DAY every November. This year is on November 22nd.

Nowadays, most American families dinner together to celebrate this day. They have turkey, vegetables, mashed potatoes, pumpkin and apple pie, nuts....