Home/Vocabulary exercises/Thanksgiving 1

THANKSGIVING VOCABULARY 1 (ESL)

level: Beginner/Intermediate (A2/B1)

Thanksgiving is a major holiday celebrated in the United States (fourth Thursday of November) and Canada (second Monday of October). This first exercise covers the key vocabulary associated with the holiday and its traditions.

READY TO PRACTICE? LET’S GO!

1. Thanksgiving is an important public holiday in the Unites States and in Canada. It is considered a day to give (thank-you/thanks) - often to God - for the things that one has.✓

2. On this day, it's important to remember what you have to be (thanked/thankful) for.✓

3. The holiday is nicknamed " (Turkey/Cranberry) Day" because this is the food that people associate most with Thanksgiving.✓

4. Many communities have annual food drives ( = a period of time over which they collect food donations) in order to feed the (needy/needed) on this day.✓

5. A (tradition/traditional) Thanksgiving dinner has turkey (usually whole), cranberry sauce, yams, and many other types of "autumn" food.✓

6. The most famous Thanksgiving dessert is pumpkin (cake/pie).✓

7. In English "to say (grace/graces)" means to say a few words of thanks - usually before eating a meal.✓

8. The history of American Thanksgiving goes back to 1621 when the Pilgrims, taught by a local American Indian tribe to ✓

(surpass/survive) in the new country, set apart a day to celebrate immediately after their first (harvest/harbor).✓

9. Another popular Thanksgiving food is (stuffing/stuff). The name comes from the fact that a Thanksgiving turkey is "stuffed" with this while it is cooking.✓

10. (Watching) American football is often a major (part/slice) of Thanksgiving celebrations in the United States. ✓

—

Thanksgiving Conversation Questions 1. Does your country have a harvest festival or day of thanks? How is it celebrated?
2. What are you most thankful for in your life right now?
3. What is your favorite traditional food from a holiday or celebration in your culture?
4. Do you think it is important to have national holidays focused on gratitude? Why?
5. How do you typically spend major holidays — with family, friends, or alone?
6. Have you ever celebrated Thanksgiving? What was it like?

Did you know? The first American Thanksgiving is traditionally traced to 1621, when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony shared a harvest meal with the Wampanoag people. However, the holiday was not celebrated nationally on a fixed date until President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it a national holiday in 1863, during the Civil War.

Canadian Thanksgiving predates the American version. Explorer Martin Frobisher held a feast of thanksgiving in 1578 in what is now Nunavut — over 40 years before the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts. The Canadian and American versions of the holiday are now celebrated on different dates and with some distinct traditions.