Thanksgiving is celebrated on fourth i.e. last Thursday of November and it is usually Autumn.
The first thanksgiving was celebrated by the English colonists known as pilgrims after their first harvest in October 1621. It is an American holiday. All the American families unite on this day, they travel long distances to come back to their homes to meet their families and celebrate thanksgiving, this is known as voyage. Then thanksgiving feast is prepared that include several dishes including: casserole, pie, pumpkin, stuffing, deep fried turkey accompanied by cranberry sauce, gravy.
It is celebrated to express gratitude towards everything we have as in this competitive world everyone is so busy that they forget about how blessed they are for example they are healthy, they have clothes to wear, they have food on table etc.
Thanksgiving Vocabulary Words
Here we have picked some 35 plus words which are related to Thanksgiving festival.
| Word | Meaning |
| beans | edible seeds, typically kidney-shaped, that grow in long pods. |
| colony | an area occupied by settlers from another country |
| corn | a North American cereal plant with rows of large yellow kernels on a cob. |
| cornucopia | This is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn overflowing with produce, flowers or nuts. |
| cranberry | a small, red berry. Typically made into a sauce for Thanksgiving. |
| dessert | a sweet course eaten at the end of a meal. |
| dinner | the main meal of the day. |
| fall | the season that is between summer and winter. Typically leaves fall from the trees during this season. |
| family | a group consisting of parents and children. |
| feast | a large meal, typically one in celebration of something. |
| football | a form of team game played in United States with an oval ball on a field. |
| gratitude | the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for an act of kindness. |
| gravy | the fat and juices exuding from meat during cooking. |
| harvest | a process or period of gathering or picking crops once they have grown enough to be used later. |
| mashed potatoes | a dish of potatoes that have been boiled and mashed into they are smooth. |
| mayflower | The ship that transported the first Pilgrims from Plymouth in England to the New World in 1620. |
| native Americans | a member of any of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. |
| November | The 11th month of the year. Thanksgiving is in November in United States |
| parade | a public procession that usually celebrates a special day or event. |
| pie | a baked dish of fruit, meat or vegetables, typically with a base (and top) of pastry. |
| pilgrim | a person who goes on a journey for religious reasons. |
| pumpkin | a large rounded orange-yellow fruit with a thick rind, edible flesh, and many seeds. |
| relatives | a person connected by blood or marriage. Relatives sometimes get together for Thanksgiving. |
| settler | a person who decides to live in an area, one that typically has no or few previous inhabitants. |
| share | to have a portion of something with others. |
| stuffing | mixture of bread, onions and herbs used to stuff (or fill) turkey, chicken or other meat before cooking. |
| thankful | expressing gratitude and relief; gives thanks for something. |
| Thursday | The day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. Thanksgiving day is always celebrated on a Thursday. |
| tradition | the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation. |
| turkey | a large bird that is native to North America. It is a typical food of Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. |
With the knowledge of common thanksgiving terms you can confidently celebrate or talk about it.
Following are some more words for your vocabulary expansion:
| Autumn | Canoe | Casserole | Colonists | Cranberry | Feast |
| Massachusetts | Massasoit | Pilgrim | Squanto | Voyage | Turkey |
| Mayflower | Gravy | Cornucopia | Parade | Black Friday | Plymouth |
| Corn bread | Baste | Sweet potato | Season | Settler | Harvest |
| America | Bake | dish | Giblets | Stuffing | Wampanoag Indians |
| Gratitude | Tradition | Yams | Pie | Squanto | Wishbone |
| Family | Friends | Holiday | Grandparents | Home | Gratitude |
One of many traditions of thanksgiving is that people donate money and food to the poor, homeless people. It is a must to watch football and do parade on this day. The Americans then go for shopping on the next day i.e. Friday. Because of this it is called black Friday and is celebrated worldwide now.
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