Match the French words or expressions on the right to their English translations on the left.
Thanksgiving
This American holiday is observed
on the last Thursday in November.
As the name suggests, it is a day to give thanks. Millions of families
and friends gather for a traditional meal on Thanksgiving. It usually
includes turkey, sweet potatoes, squash, corn, cranberries and pumpkin
pie. Many of the same foods from the autumn harvest were eaten on the
first Thanksgiving centuries ago.
Settlers from England called Pilgrims are believed to have held the first
Thanksgiving meal in North America in 1621. They had arrived in what is
now the northeastern United States a year earlier. More than half their
number died from disease or lack of food.
Those who survived held a day of thanksgiving. They thanked God for protecting
them. They also thanked the Native Americans who lived in the area. These
Indians were part of the Wampanoag tribe.
The Wampanoags helped save the Pilgrims by showing them how to fish and
plant crops. The Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving for about three days.
About ninety Indians joined the celebration. They ate deer, ducks, geese,
turkeys and pumpkins. The two groups also made a peace and friendship
agreement. This gave the Pilgrims an area to build their town.
This friendship, though, was not for long. More English settlers came
to America. They did not need the help of the Indians. Many settlers forgot
about the help the Indians had provided. Within a few years, the two sides
were at war. Many of the Wampanoags were killed in battle or died from
diseases that arrived with the Europeans.