THIS IS AMERICA - Thanksgiving

THIS IS AMERICA - November 25, 2002: Thanksgiving

By Jerilyn Watson

VOICE ONE:

It is one of America’s most popular holidays. It is a day for expressing thanks for the good things in life,
especially family and friends. I’m Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. The story of Thanksgiving is our report today on the VOA Special
English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

((THEME)
)

VOICE ONE:

This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. The writer O. Henry called it the one holiday that is
purely American. Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday. But it has spiritual meaning.
Some Americans attend religious services on the day before Thanksgiving, or on Thanksgiving morning. Others
travel long distances to be with their families. They have a large dinner, which is the main part of the celebration.
For many Americans, Thanksgiving is the only time when all members of a family gather. The holiday is a time
of family reunion.

VOICE TWO:

Thanksgiving is a celebration of home and family. But not everyone can spend Thanksgiving with their family.
For example, Joan and Sandy Horwitt moved to the state of Virginia from their home in the Middle West more
than twenty-five years ago.

They regretted not being able to celebrate Thanksgiving with all their family members. But soon they met other
people who also were separated from their families. So the Horwitts began holding a yearly 1 Thanksgiving dinner
for what they called their “extended 2 family.
”
This included people in their community. All the guests bring
food to share for Thanksgiving dinner.

The group has grown over the years. Mister 3 and Missus Horwitt now have to add small tables to their large one to
make room for all the guests. At first, many of their friends brought their babies and young children. Now some
of the first guests soon will be grandparents.

VOICE ONE:

Like many other Americans, Mister and Missus Horwitt and their visitors enjoy a long day of cooking, eating and
talking. The traditional meal usually includes a turkey with a bread mixture cooked inside. Other traditional
Thanksgiving foods served with turkey are sweet potatoes, cranberries 4 and pumpkin 5 pie. Stores sell more food at
Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year. And many people eat more food at Thanksgiving than at any
other time of the year.

VOICE TWO:

Not everyone cooks a Thanksgiving turkey, however. Some families like other meats. And in recent years
a
number of American homes have vegetarian 6 Thanksgiving dinners. This means no meat will be served.

Some people go to public eating places on Thanksgiving. A retired 7 husband and wife in Washington, D.C do this
each year. They meet friends at a local restaurant for their holiday dinner. The women say they enjoy the day
especially because they do not have to cook.

Norman Rockwell's
Thanksgiving
portrait.

VOICE ONE:

Thanksgiving also is a time when Americans share what they have with people who do not have as much. All
across America, thousands of religious and service organizations provide Thanksgiving meals for old people, the
homeless, and the poor. Some people spend part of the day helping 8 to prepare and serve the meals. Everyone
expresses thanks for what they have.

Here is some Thanksgiving music by American composer William Schuman.

(MUSIC: "BE GLAD AMERICA”)

VOICE TWO:

Thanksgiving is celebrated 9 every year on the fourth Thursday of November. The month of November is autumn
in the United States, the season for harvesting crops. When the first European settlers in America gathered their
crops, they celebrated and gave thanks for the food.

Tradition says Pilgrim 10 settlers from England celebrated the first Thanksgiving in Sixteen-Twenty-One. There is
evidence that settlers in other parts of America held earlier Thanksgiving celebrations. But the Pilgrims 11’
Thanksgiving story is the most popular.

VOICE ONE:

The Pilgrims were religious dissidents who fled oppression in England. They went first to the Netherlands. Then
they left that country to establish a colony 12 in North America. The Pilgrims landed in Sixteen-Twenty in what
later became known as Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Their voyage across the Atlantic Ocean was difficult. Their first months in America were difficult, too. About
one-hundred Pilgrims landed just as autumn was turning to winter. During the cold months that followed, about
half of them died.

VOICE TWO:

When spring came, the pilgrims began to plant crops. A native American Indian named Squanto helped them.
When summer ended, the Pilgrims had a good harvest of corn and barley 13. There was enough food to last through
the winter.

The Pilgrims decided 14 to hold a celebration to give thanks for their harvest. Writings from that time say Pilgrim
leader William Bradford set a date late in the year. He invited members of a nearby Indian tribe 15 to take part.

VOICE ONE:

That Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days. There were many kinds of food to eat. The meal included wild
birds such as ducks, geese and turkeys.

The Pilgrims did not celebrate Thanksgiving again until two years later. That celebration marked the end of a
period of dry weather that had almost destroyed their crops. Historians 16 believe the Pilgrims held their second
Thanksgiving in July.

As the American colonies 17 grew, many towns and settlements held Thanksgiving or harvest celebrations. Yet it
was not until about two-hundred-fifty-years later that a national day for Thanksgiving was declared. Here are the
Paul Hillier singers with “Thanksgiving Anthem 18.
”

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The creation 19 of a national Thanksgiving holiday resulted from the efforts of a writer named Sarah Josepha Hale.
In the Eighteen-Twenties, she began a campaign to officially establish the holiday.


Macy's Thanksgiving Day
Parade in New York.
Support for her idea grew slowly. Finally, in Eighteen Sixty-Three, President Abraham Lincoln declared the last
Thursday in November as a national holiday of Thanksgiving. Later, Congress 20 declared that the holiday would be
celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday in November.

VOICE ONE:

Over the years, Americans have added new traditions to their Thanksgiving celebration. For example, a number
of professional and university football games are played on Thanksgiving Day. Some of the games are broadcast
on national television. Many people also like to watch Thanksgiving Day parades on television. Big stores in
several cities organize these marches.

But for many Americans, Thanksgiving is a time for memories. Former Special
English writer and broadcaster Richard Thorman liked to remember the
Thanksgivings when he was a young child. His family always ate a large dinner in
the afternoon. Then the men would rest. Later, the family would eat again. Here is
one young boy’s Thanksgiving memory:

VOICE TWO:

“In the early evening, when the outside light had begun to fade, the men would start

to reappear. Then the food began to reappear. And everyone sat at the table and ate
again as if no food had been served before. I never knew how the Thanksgiving celebration ended. I usually was
asleep and had to be carried to the car for the long ride home.
”

VOICE ONE:

On Thanksgiving, Americans gather with family and friends. We share what we have. And we give thanks for the
good things of the past year. Here is the Boston Pops Orchestra 21 and chorus 22 performing “Prayer of
Thanksgiving.
”

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by Cynthia Kirk. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA
Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

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