THANKSGIVING TODAY

In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. In the United States, it is on the fourth Thursday in November. Although its origins are religious, today, Thanksgiving is a largely secular holiday. For most Americans and Canadians, it is a day for coming together with family and friends to share a large meal. It is an occasion to spend time with loved ones and express gratitude for the year that has passed. In many households there is a tradition of everyone seated at the table sharing what they are most grateful for.

Thanksgiving food

Thanksgiving is also about food. Thanksgiving dinner traditionally includes roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and, for dessert, apple, pumpkin or pecan pies. Every family has its own recipes, sometimes secret recipes handed down through generations. Turkey, a bird native to North America, is the unofficial mascot of Thanksgiving, with roast turkey on the menu and turkey decorations on the wall. In the United States, a tradition of gifting turkeys to the President has more recently evolved into a humorous turkey ‘pardoning’. At this light-hearted ceremony, the President issues an official pardon for one or two turkeys, saving them from being cooked for supper.

More than food:

football, parades and traffic jams!

Beyond food and gratitude, there are some unexpected sides to the American and Canadian holiday. One of these is football. This popular sport is an important part of the holiday, when families gather around to cheer on local or national teams. American football and Canadian football are both similar to rugby, played primarily not with the feet but with the hands.

Parades are another common part of the festivities. In the United States, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade takes place in New York City on the morning of Thanksgiving. It’s one of the world’s largest parades and is broadcast nationwide. A similar Thanksgiving parade happens in Canada as part of the Kitchener–Waterloo Oktoberfest, a multi-day autumn festival.

Unfortunately, heavy traffic is also common at Thanksgiving. In both countries, the week of Thanksgiving is one of the most popular travel times of the year, as everyone heads home to visit their extended family. So try to avoid any road trips if you’re visiting North America during this holiday!

Are the sentences true or false? 

1. Thanksgiving was originally celebrated by European settlers in North America.
2. At many Thanksgiving celebrations, everyone tells the group what they are most thankful for.
3. Modern-day Thanksgiving celebrations are very religious.
4. The main part of Thanksgiving is the preparation and sharing of a big meal.
5. Only Americans play and watch football during Thanksgiving.
6. The American President kills two turkeys every year.
Complete the sentences
Words: feast, gratitude, light-hearted, pardon, secular and settlers.
1. New …… from Europe brought religious traditions with them to North America.
2. Even though the first Thanksgiving celebrations were days of prayer, the modern holiday is largely …………
3. A roast turkey is the centrepiece of the big Thanksgiving .…… .
4. Modern Thanksgiving is a……, fun holiday full of activities like football and parades.
5. The American President saves some turkeys from being feasted on by issuing a presidential ………… 
6. More than just food and fun, Thanksgiving is about ………… and reflecting on a successful year.

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/general-english/magazine/thanksgiving

GIVING THANKS 

POETRY

Taking three symbols of Thanksgiving – turkey, stuffing and blessing, let’s take a look at 7 idioms that are commonly used in English.

1. To be stuffed
To be full and can’t eat anymore.
The meal was absolutely delicious. I’m afraid I can’t eat one morsel more. I’m stuffed.

2. To go cold turkey
to suddenly stop a bad habit and suffer from it at the beginning. (This is often used when talking about a drug addict who suddenly stops taking drugs.)
Many people who attempt to quit smoking do so by going cold turkey rather than by gradually cutting down.”

3. To count your blessings
to be grateful for the good things in your life
We have a lovely home, healthy children and each other – we should count our blessings.

4. A stuffed shirt
a person who behaves in a very formal way and expects to be treated as someone very important
The stuffed shirts in this company don’t realise that they need new blood if we are to survive the crisis.

5.  A blessing in disguise
something that at first appears to be bad or unlucky but is actually good
I was really upset when I was first made redundant but when I look back now, it was a blessing in disguise. I’ve never been happier with my current work.

6. To talk turkey (mainly American English) –to discuss a problem in a serious way with a real intention to solve it 
The politicians need to stop messing around and start talking turkey.

7. To be a mixed blessing
 something that has bad effects as well as advantages 
Being beautiful can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, you receive a lot of attention, but on the other hand, people don’t always take you seriously.

QUIZ

THE PILGRIMS AND PLYMOUTH COLONY

The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony

The Pilgrims were a group of English settlers who left Europe in search of religious freedom in the Americas. They established the Plymouth Colony in 1620.

Why did the Pilgrims travel to America?

The Pilgrims traveled to America in search of a new way of life. Many of the Pilgrims were part of a religious group called Separatists. They were called this because they wanted to "separate" from the Church of England and worship God in their own way. They were not allowed to do this in England where they were persecuted and sometimes put in jail for their beliefs. Other Pilgrims were hoping to find adventure or a better life in the New World. 

Setting Sail 

The Pilgrims initially set sail aboard two ships; the Speedwell and the Mayflower. However, not long after leaving England, the Speedwell began to leak and the Pilgrims had to return to port. Once back at port, they crowded as many of the passengers as possible onto the Mayflower and set sail once again for America on September 6, 1620. They managed to fit 102 total passengers on the Mayflower, but they had to leave 20 of the original Speedwell passengers behind. In addition to the 102 passengers, there were between 25 and 30 crewmen onboard the ship. 

Voyage on the Mayflower

The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean was long and difficult. The extra people on the ship made the trip even worse. They ran out of fresh water and many people became sick. Storms also hit the ship very hard causing one of the main beams to crack. Two people died during the voyage. At one point, they considered turning back, but decided to stick it out. After two long months at sea, the Pilgrims finally reached land. 

Mayflower Compact

When the Pilgrims arrived in New England, they decided they needed to make an agreement on how issues would be settled and the colony would be run. They signed a document that is today called the Mayflower Compact. The compact declared that the colonists were loyal to the King of England, that they were Christians who served God, that they would make fair and just laws, and that they would each work for the good of the colony. The Mayflower Compact was signed by 41 of the Pilgrim men (the women were not allowed to sign). The men also voted John Carver to be the first governor of the colony. 

Plymouth Colony 

After arriving in America, the Pilgrims searched the coast of New England for a good place to build a settlement. They eventually found a location called Plymouth. It had a calm harbor for their ship, a river for fresh water, and flat lands where they could plant crops. It was here that they built their village and established the Plymouth Colony.

A Hard Winter

The Pilgrims were happy to finally be in America, but things didn't get any easier for them. They were not prepared for the cold winter. They quickly built a main common house and then began to build small houses for each of the families. For a time, some people slept on the Mayflower. Many people got sick and died over the first winter. At one point there were only around six people well enough to continue working. By the end of winter, only 47 out of the original 102 settlers were still alive. Governor John Carver died that Spring and William Bradford was elected the new governor. 

The Wampanoag

The Native Americans that lived in the same area as Plymouth Colony were the Wampanoag peoples. The chief of the Wampanoag, Massasoit, made contact with the Pilgrims. They established a peace treaty and agreed to trade for animal furs. One Wampanoag man, Squanto, had traveled to Europe and could speak some English. He agreed to stay with the Pilgrims and teach them how to survive. He taught them how to plant corn, where to hunt and fish, and how to survive through the winter. Without Squanto's help the colony probably wouldn't have survived. 

Thanksgiving 

The Pilgrims held a feast after their first harvest in 1621. They invited some of the local Wampanoag people to join them. This feast is sometimes called the first Thanksgiving. They continued this tradition and, in 1623, when they were celebrating the end of a long drought, they began to call the feast "Thanksgiving." 

Interesting Facts about the Pilgrims

• The "Separatists" often referred to the other members of the colony as "Strangers." 
• The Mayflower was around 106 feet long and 25 feet wide. That's not a lot of space for 102 people to live for two months! 
• William Bradford was governor of Plymouth colony for around thirty years. A lot of what we know about the Pilgrims comes from William Bradford's journal called Of Plymouth Plantation. 
• There is a famous rock where the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth called Plymouth Rock. So many people have chipped off samples of the rock that it is now about 1/3 of its original size. 

QUIZ. THE PILGRIMS AND PLYMOUTH COLONY

https://www.ducksters.com/history/colonial_america/pilgrims_plymouth_colony.php

This text is Copyright © Ducksters. 

POCAHONTAS

30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

The Cold War

Berlin Wall

 

The Berlin Wall was built by the communist government of East Berlin in 1961. The wall separated East Berlin and West Berlin. 
It was built in order to prevent people from fleeing East Berlin. In many ways it was the perfect symbol of the "Iron Curtain" that separated the democratic western countries and the communist countries of Eastern Europe throughout the Cold War. 

How it All Started

After World War II the country of Germany ended up dividing into two separate countries. East Germany became a communist country under the control of the Soviet Union. At the same time West Germany was a democratic country and allied with Britain, France, and the United States. The initial plan was that the country would eventually be reunited, but this didn't happen for a long time. 

The City of Berlin 

Berlin was the capital of Germany. Even though it was located in the eastern half of the country, the city was controlled by all four major powers; the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, and France. 

Defections

As people in East Germany began to realize that they did not want to live under the rule of the Soviet Union and communism, they started to leave the eastern part of the country and move to the west. These people were called defectors. 

Over time more and more people left. The Soviet and East German leaders began to worry that they were losing too many people. Over the course of the years 1949 to 1959, over 2 million people left the country. In 1960 alone, around 
230,000 people defected.
Although the East Germans tried to keep people from leaving, it was fairly easy for people to leave the city of Berlin because the inside of the city was controlled by all four major powers. 

Building the Wall 

Finally, the Soviets and the East German leaders had had enough. On August 12th and 13th of 1961 they built a wall around Berlin to prevent people from leaving. At first the wall was just a barbed wire fence. Later it would be rebuilt with concrete blocks 12 feet high and four feet wide.

The Wall is Torn Down 

In 1987 President Ronald Reagan gave a speech in Berlin where he asked the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to "Tear down this Wall!" 

Reagan at the Berlin Wall 

Source: White House Photographic Office

Around that time the Soviet Union was beginning to collapse. They were losing their hold on East Germany. A few years later on November 9, 1989 the announcement was made. The borders were open and people could freely move between Eastern and Western Germany. Much of the wall was torn down by people chipping away as they celebrated the end to a divided Germany. On October 3, 1990 Germany was officially reunified into a single country. 

Interesting Facts About the Berlin Wall

• The Eastern Germany government called the wall the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart. The Western Germans often referred to it as the Wall of Shame.
• Around 20% of the East German population left the country in the years leading up to the building of the wall.
• The country of East Germany was officially called the German Democratic Republic or GDR.
• There were also many guard towers along the wall. Guards were ordered to shoot anyone attempting to escape.
• It is estimated that around 5000 people escaped over or through the wall during the 28 years it stood. Around 200 were killed trying to escape.

https://www.ducksters.com/history/cold_war/berlin_wall.php