Read and render the text “Thanksgiving”.

The story of America’s Thanksgiving begins with the Pilgrims. Early in the 17-th century, the Pilgrims left England in search of religious freedom. In 1608, they sailed to Holland. Then, in 1620, they set sail once again and crossed the Atlantic aboard a leaky ship called the Mayflower.

After sailing for many weeks, the Pilgrims landed at a place now called Massachusetts. They set up a colony at Plymouth, where they planted the seeds they had brought from England. But the seeds didn’t grow well, and there was so little food for the Pilgrims that many of them starved to death.

Luckily for the Pilgrims, some nearby Indians came to rescue. They taught the Pilgrims to grow native food such as corn. The Indians even helped to build houses for the newcomers. Without this help, the Pilgrims would not have survived.

After the first harvest, the governor of Plymouth Colony - William Bradford - suggested that the Pilgrims hold a feast of thanksgiving. He felt that it was a good time to thank God for the Pilgrims’ survival in their new homeland. And to their thanksgiving feast the Pilgrims invited the Indians. The Pilgrims were grateful to the Indians for helping the Colony survive. In addition, they hoped that the celebration would strengthen their friendship with the Indians.

In 1789 George Washington declared that Thanksgiving would be a national celebration. But later the holiday faded in importance. In 1827, Sarah Hale started a campaign to have Americans observe Thanksgiving once again. Her efforts were finally successful in 1863, when President Lincoln declared that Thanksgiving would be celebrated every year on the third Thursday of November. In 1941, while Franklin Roosevelt was president, Thanksgiving was moved to the fourth Thursday in November.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 1204