Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is coming!

There is no school on Thanksgiving Day - Thursday, Nov 21

and no school on the day after Thanksgiving - Friday, Nov 22.

Thanksiving is a holiday that is very important for Americans.  It is the number one holiday for travelling to visit family.  Friends and family get together and eat a big meal together.  They say thank you for the good things in their life. It is not about religion, politics, or shopping.  It is is about tradition, family, gratitude, and food.

Of course, American families are like all families around the world.  Sometimes they "squabble" (argue) as they "gobble" (eat). 

Turkey is the traditional food to eat.  Some other traditional foods are corn bread stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.  Turkeys, corn, cranberries, and pumpkins are all from North America.

When the European people arrived on the Eastern Coast of North America, they did not know about these foods.  They did not know many things about this "New World."  The Native American people helped them learn and showed them how to grow corn and cook these foods.

That is the simple version of the story.  The true story is very complicated.

You can do some ESL lessons about Thanksgiving here, here, and here.

At San Mateo Adult School, we celebrate Thanksgiving, too.

The ESL Student Council buys turkeys.

And everyone - staff and students - brings the "side dishes."

Then we all eat together.

You can see photos of Thanksgiving from 2010 in the morning and the evening.

We will celebrate this year on Wednesday, November 21st.

Ask your teacher for more informationn.

The Friday after Thanksgiving now a special name:  "Black Friday."   It is a big shopping day with many big sales and discounts.  Some people get up super early to go shopping on that day.

Some people do not like this new shopping tradition because they think it takes away from the holiday.

Other people like it.  

How do you feel about it?

And as move toward the Thanksgiving holiday, what are you grateful for?

Some people like to make a gratitude list.  What can you put on yours?

The United States has songs for many holidays, especially Christmas, but not many for Thanksgiving.

Here is what I could find:

A serious storytelling one by Johnny Cash:

A soft, serious one by Mary Chapin Carpenter:

And a silly one by Adam Sandler: