2. Thanksgiving Day is always celebrated on
the 3rd Thursday of November. This year
Thanksgiving is on November 24th.
3. Pilgrims and Native Americans
Pilgrims are people
who moved from
England to New
England in the United
States. The word
pilgrim means
someone who has
traveled from a far
place.
4. Native Americans are people who were
from the United States before the pilgrims
arrived. Another name is American Indian.
5. History of Thanksgiving
On December 11, 1620, the Pilgrims
settled in New England, now a group of 6
states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and
Connecticut.
6. History of Thanksgiving
In 1621, the Pilgrims had the first festival
of Thanksgiving. They wanted to celebrate
the success of their trip from England and
their first year in New England.
The Pilgrims celebrated
to give thanks for a
good harvest, and to be
with the community
after a lot of hard work
in the fields.
7. During the first year in New England, the
Pilgrims did not have enough food from
their harvest for everyone to eat. So the
Native Americans gave them seeds to
plant and taught them how to fish.
This feast was shared
with the Native
Americans, and the
Native Americans
also shared their
traditions for
celebrating the
harvest.
8. Thanksgiving Traditions
Today, in the United States, we have
many traditions for Thanksgiving. We
have parades, shows, and big feasts at
our homes.
9. Thanksgiving Traditions
The most important
tradition of Thanksgiving
is having a large dinner
with your family and
relatives. This feast is to
celebrate being thankful
for our family, our
health, and our
happiness. We have
Thanksgiving to spend
time with our loved ones.
10. Traditional Foods
Turkey with Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Green Beans
Corn Bread
Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
11. Desserts
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Chocolate Pie
Pecan Pie
12. Thanksgiving Day Parade
Another tradition of
Thanksgiving is the
Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day
Parade in New York
City. They have
floats of popular
cartoons, music,
and famous singers
perform.
Macy's Parade
13. Thanksgiving Traditions
American Football is another important
tradition of Thanksgiving. On
Thanksgiving Day, almost every team
plays a game. There are games all day
and night, and they are usually important
games.
14. Thanksgiving Traditions
There are 5K or 10K running races on the
morning of Thanksgiving, called ¨Turkey
Trots¨
These are for fun, usually because people
know they are going to eat a lot for
dinner. There are fundraisers and
sometimes people wear costumes.
15. Symbols of Thanksgiving
Turkey Cornucopia
(Maize, Pumpkins,
Cranberries)
Pilgrims and
Native Americans
