My first Thanksgiving

Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on the forth Thursday of November. Children don’t go to school and businesses close for four days. It is a special day     for families, and people travel great distances just to be with their families for this occasion.

This tradition started with the “Pilgrim Fathers”. They were the founders of a colony in North America. These people were Puritans, they were against the Church of England and they suffered religious persecution in England, so they wanted to start a new life. So, on the 6^th September 1620, 102 men, women and children left Plymouth in a ship called Mayflower. The voyage wasn’t easy, but finally the arrived in America on the 11^th December 1620. They landed on the north-west coast and they called this place Plymouth. But it was winter, and there wasn’t much food. They immediately began to build small houses, but it was too late to grow crops. The winter was long and half of them died. In the spring, native American called Squanto helped them how to grow corn and how to hunt. Soon, the pilgrims and the Wampanoag native Americans became friends. The pilgrims grew crops and that summer harvest was excellent. By November 1621, everyone had food and home. There was hope for the future. Then, the governor of the Pilgrim’s colony decided to celebrate with a dinner this because he wanted to thank God. That was the first Thanksgiving dinner, and it continued for three days. 
Today the traditional Thanksgiving meal is similar to the first. People eat roast turkey with cranberry sauce, potatoes and pumpkin pie. Many organisations also prepare a free meal for poor people in their towns or cities. In New York, there are also parades and more than two million people go and see it every year.

Match each word with the suitable meaning.

a)    Puritans                                 1) Native American tribe.

b)    Voyage                                  2) Time to collect the crops.

c)    Grow crops                            3) Very religious people that follows religious rules very strictly.

d)    Wampanoag                          4) Person who emigrates for some reason.

e)    Pilgrim                                   5) Very large trip.

f)     Harvest                                  6) Cultivate new products to harvest.   

Answer  the questions

1.     When do Americans celebrate Thanksgiving?

2.     Who were the “Pilgrim Fathers”?

3.     When did the pilgrims  arrive?

4.     What is “Mayflower”?

5.     How did Native Americans help Pilgrims?

6.     What is traditional Thanksgiving meal ?

7.     What’s reason to celebrate Thanksgiving?

Say if they are True (T), False (F) or Unknown (DS). Then, correct the

sentences by showing an evidence from the text.

1.         Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November.

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2.         The tradition of Thanksgiving started with the Pilgrims.

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3. There were only fifty people on the “Mayflower”.

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3.         They settled a colony in the south-west coast, and they called it Plymouth.

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4.         The first winter in Plymouth was very difficult.

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5.         Native Americans didn’t help them grow crops and build houses.

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6.         The first Thanksgiving dinner continued for three days.

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7.         They weren’t very religious. That’s why they left.

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