The document discusses the origin and traditions of Thanksgiving. It explains that the first Thanksgiving took place in 1621 when the Pilgrims celebrated a successful harvest with the Wampanoag people. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November with family meals, decorations symbolizing autumn, parades including Macy's parade in New York City, and activities like football games and Black Friday shopping. The traditions emphasize gratitude and bringing communities together through food, faith, and fellowship.

2. •
Thanksgiving
• Origin
•Celebrations
• Fun facts

3. What do the pictures tell you?

4. Origin
• The pilgrims :
- Sailed on the Mayflower ship & landed on Plymouth -
Massachusetts in1620.
- Failed to survive the 1st few months in their new home.
• Native people helped the pilgrims taught the settlers how to grow
corn & other crops to survive
• 12/1621: the Pilgrims held a three-day feast in Plymouth Rock &
invited native people to celebrate their successful harvest.

5.  The 1st Thanksgiving

7. • On the fourth Thursday of November.
• A four-day / five-day weekend vacation in school
& college calendars.

8. Decorations
Cornucopia

9. 3. Decoration
- Decorate homes with wreaths, fresh & dried flowers.
- Light lamps to brighten the environment.
- Tables are adorned with best china and antique silver
cutlery to mark the occasion.
- Autumn colors of orange, red, brown, and yellow are
often used in table or door decorations, along with dried
flowers, colorful gourds and “Indian corn.” All of these
items represent the harvest and the fall season.

10. Cornucopia
• Cornucopia (horn of plenty): One of the
most recognizable symbols of
Thanksgiving
• A decorative motif, originating in ancient
Greece, symbolizes abundance.
• A horn-shaped container, it is filled with
abundance fruits and grains.

11. Thanksgiving food

12. Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes Cranberry sauce

13. Pumpkin pie
Sweet corn
Other fall vegetables

14. 2. Giving thanks
• In celebrations at home: begin Thanksgiving
dinner by saying grace - a prayer to express
appreciation to God, to ask for God’s blessing.
• Show gratitude to friends, relatives, & colleagues:
send loving messages & warm wishes through
Thanksgiving cards.

15. Giving thanks

16. Grace:
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

17. Thanksgiving cards
* Dear Aryaman,
Thanks so much for being there on my side and
supporting me all through. Without you my life
would have been incomplete.
* Dear Mummy and Papa
You are the best parents any child can
have.
Thanks for being our parents.
Arpit and Dolly
Love,
Akriti

19. 3. Parades
• In N.Y: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held annually
every Thanksgiving Day
+ Televised nationally by NBC.
+ Features: moving stands with themes, scenes from
Broadway plays, large balloons & high school marching
bands.
The Santa Claus float ends the Macy's Parade :
unofficially signifies that the Christmas season has begun.
• Also appear in many other cities : Chicago, Illinois,
Plymouth, Massachusetts, St. Louis, Missouri.
• Famously known for its policy of going on under any
circumstance or condition.

20. Parades

21. Moving stands

22. Giant ballons

23. Other activities
1. Shopping
“Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving: starts The
American winter holiday season (= Christmas
shopping season)
2. Football
A lot of football games are played & watching them is
a popular activity.

27. Turkey pardon
• Sending them to retirement on a farm rather
than to a dinner table
• Beginning in the mid-20th century and
perhaps even earlier, the president of the
United States has “pardoned” one or two
Thanksgiving turkeys each year, sparing the
birds from slaughter and sending them to a
farm for retirement.

29. Charity
• Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day
activity, and communities often hold food drives
and host free dinners for the less fortunate
• In the Thanksgiving spirit of sharing, it is common
today for civic groups and charitable
organizations to offer traditional Thanksgiving
meals to those in need, particularly the homeless.
Communities take up food drives for needy
families during the holiday.

30. Hungry diners line up outside a church
for a free Thanksgiving meal

31. •THANK YOU 