The First Thanksgiving in North America
Thanksgiving goes back a long time in North American history. It started with some of the earliest settlers.
The people who came on this ship were Puritans. They were also “separatists”. They wanted to separate from the Church of England and start their own church. These people are now called the Pilgrim Fathers.
The first winter in America was a very difficult one. The Pilgrim Fathers had to learn how to grow food in the new soil. Also, the climate was too cold for some of them. Nearly half of them died.
However, they had some help. The Indians taught them how to grow corn and maize.
The Pilgrim Fathers were very happy when they had their first harvest. It was a time to celebrate. They cooked a big turkey dinner.
This was the first Thanksgiving dinner. The Pilgrim Fathers continued to celebrate the harvest in this way every year.
Later, the Americans made Thanksgiving Day a national holiday. It falls on the fourth Thursday of November every year.
Thanksgiving Day in Canada
In the eighteenth century Canadians made a Thanksgiving dinner whenever they had a good reason to celebrate. Sometimes they celebrated recovery from illness. Sometimes they celebrated a military victory. In 1796, for example, the early settlers in Halifax made a Thanksgiving dinner at the end of the war between Britain and France.
In 1870, Canada made Thanksgiving Day a national holiday. It falls on the second Monday in October every year. This is the time of their fall harvest.
At Thanksgiving, people usually eat turkey with cranberry sauce. They also eat fall vegetables such as squash and turnips. Cider and pumpkin pie are on the Thanksgiving menu too. There are usually Thanksgiving dinner recipes in the newspaper before the holiday.
Encontrei esse texto num dos meus velhos livros de curso de Inglês do tempo que passei no Canadá.
Temos também um teste de compreensão sobre esse artigo no WIZIQ para alunos. É só pedirem o link de acesso que mando por e-mail.
Espero que gostem.
An Introduction to Canadian English
Student Workbook n. 2
Ontario Ministry of Culture and Recreation