• Today, families celebrate Thanksgiving by eating together

• Normally there is turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams, corn, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.

• It is a federal holiday, so there is no school for any children. Also the banks, post offices, and government offices are closed.

• It is is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

• The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 when the pilgrims invited the Wompanoag Indians of Massachusetts to a three-day feast to thank God for the autumn harvest.

The Pilgrims were a small group of English people who sailed to North America in order to start a new life.

They were in search of religious freedom. They sailed on a ship called the Mayflower and

landed on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts

• The Pilgrims celebrated the harvest but more importantly they celebrated surviving their first brutal winter in New England.

• They were thankful for the food they had. • Now as a tradition at Thanksgiving people

reflect on what they are grateful for in their lives and say grace before eating.

Parades• Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a tradition in New

York city since 1924

• It begins at 9 am and lasts for 3 hours• More than 44 million people watch the parade on television

each year• The arrival of Santa Clause at the end of the parade marks the

beginning of the Christmas season

Football

• Watching professional football on Thanksgiving has been an American tradition for over a century (began in1902)

• Normally, high school games are played between rival teams and the towns show up for the “Turkey Bowls”

• Family’s often play big games either before or after the meal

Pardoning the Turkey

• Since President George Bush in 1989, 2 turkeys each year have been pardoned by the president.

• Instead of being roasted for dinner, they are sent to DisneyLand where they attend the parade and then live for the rest of their lives.

• Last year Obama pardoned his first turkey, Courage from Goldsboro, NC.

“Black Friday”

• The day after Thanksgiving is usually a day off, especially for schools.

• This day has become a day of intense shopping, mostly for Christmas presents, and there are big sales.

• People wake up as early as 4 am to get ready to shop.