Thanksgiving is a day of giving thanks especially for the blessings that come from harvesting. It is celebrated in Canada, the USA, some Caribbean Islands and Liberia. As well, other countries have similar festivals (like Germany, Japan, India and the UK). You can learn more about the traditions in other countries here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Traditions

Print out theThanksgiving Traditions Worksheet and as a family discuss your personal traditions. Then research other traditions. ask friends and neighbors how they celebrate and read books or search online to discover how other countries celebrate.

Learning Activities

Cornucopia/ Horn of Plenty

In the ancient Greek world the cornucopia was a symbol of abundance and nourishment. For more history check here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornucopia

Thanksgiving

WEBSITES:

Read about the history of thanksgiving, including myths, and watch some videos about how thanksgiving became a national holiday on this site:http://www.history.com/content/thanksgiving

Try this site for more history including information on the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Hebrews and Egyptians: http://www.holidays.net/thanksgiving/story.htm

This site has the first thanksgiving story: http://people.howstuffworks.com/thanksgiving2.htm

The legend of johnny appleseed!

Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620.