The First Thanksgiving

     Some people came to the New World from England in 1620 to have a better life.  Some came because the king of England, King James, wanted everyone to worship in his way.

     It took them a long time, over 2 months, to get to the New World.  The boat trip was awful because they had very little water, they missed their families, no bathrooms, little food, very little room, dirty clothes and no beds.

     They built some houses after they landed.  They also met an Indian named Samoset.  Samoset introduced them to Squanto.  Squanto taught them how to plant corn, use bows and arrows,  and make fertilizer out of dead fish.  He also taught them how to make pop corn.  He taught them what was safe to eat in the wild.  He taught them how to get clams and lobsters.

     The Indians traded with the Pilgrims.  The Pilgrims worked hard all spring and summer planting gardens.

     The Indians and the Pilgrims signed a peace treaty. 

      In the fall of 1621 they had a great feast.  They were celebrating friendship and their good harvest.  They invited the Indians, who brought 5 deer to add to the feast.

     The celebration lasted for 3 days.  It consisted of games, races and eating.

     This was the first American Thanksgiving.

Some Modern Day Traditions

     In our class we found that we still get together with family.  We still celebrate by eating and some of the items include:

pies, turkey, cranberry sauce, squash, fruit, and mashed potatoes.

     Some still play games and watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade on television together.  A lot of them watch football games on TV as well.

A lot go hunting for deer before enjoying the feast with family.  It usually only lasts just Thanksgiving Day, the last Thursday in November.

In the United States, Christmas is celebrated on December 25^th.  Most people decorate their homes for Christmas.  They put up a tree and decorate it with ornaments, colored lights, and tinsel or garland.  People buy presents for their friends and family.  Many families hang stockings for Santa to fill with presents.  We like to sing Christmas carols and put on a Christmas program at school.  We always hope we will have snow to play in for Christmas.  We bake special food—cookies, pies, and breads.  On Christmas Eve, many people go to church to celebrate Jesus’ birthday.  During the night, Santa comes and brings presents.  We sit around the Christmas tree and open our gifts.  Then we play with our toys.  We have a big Christmas dinner with turkey, stuffing, squash, corn, mashed potatoes, and cranberries.  We visit our relatives and friends and have lots of fun.  We are off of school from Christmas to New Year’s.