Thanksgiving Day (День благодарения) - один из важнейших праздников в Америке. 

Thanksgiving Day is one of the most favourite holidays in the United States.

Every fourth Thursday of November American people celebrate this holiday. People go to church and families come together for the day. They decorate their houses with the fruit and flowers of autumn and prepare traditional American food: roast turkey, potatoes and pumpkin. But what do people celebrate on this day?

This day has a very important meaning in the history of America. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by pilgrims in autumn of 1621.

As you probably remember, in 1620 the first colonists came to the New World, where they began a new life. It was a very hard life. Before their arrival to America the country was inhabited by Native American Indians. However, when they settled here, the life was quite difficult. There was nothing to eat and nowhere to live. First winter was especially difficult and many people couldn’t survive without fresh food. In spring Native Indians, who became their friends, taught the pilgrims how to survive in America. And the colonists started to farm the land. They now could hunt, fish and grow plants.  In New England, the place where they lived, there were a lot of wild birds. They looked like chickens but were much bigger. They were turkeys. 

In the autumn of 1621 the colonists had their first harvest. It was rather good. That is why they decided to have a special dinner. They wanted to thank God - to give Him their thanks for many things.  Although it was a difficult year  they still had food to eat. The colonists had a thanksgiving dinner for all people. Their Indian friends were also invited to share the feast. It lasted three days. For the whole three days they gave thanks  for their good harvest and their happy year in a new country.

During this holiday the tables were full of fresh food: corn, beans, turkey, venison, pumpkin.  

Wild turkeys were on the table of this meal, and since then the turkey has become a symbol of Thanksgiving Day.