Learning Language, Culture, and Food Vocabulary

Learning Language, Culture, and Food Vocabulary Pauls Thanksgiving turkey.This Thursday in the United States we will be celebrating Thanksgiving day. When we learn language we also learn about the culture of the language. So this week you will learn a little bit about Thanksgiving and colonial America.Canada and the US both celebrate Thanksgiving however they have different meanings, histories, and even different days. Currently, in the United States Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, and in Canada it is celebrated on the second Monday of October .History of Thanksgiving and Spanish origins The first Thanksgiving could have been given to us by Spain. According to historians the first Spanish settlers in the US celebrated a Thanksgiving dinner in Florida, September 8, 1565. In general the origin of Thanksgiving is European and probably based off of the traditional harvest dinners in Europe. The first colonies in the United States were extremely religious and celebrated the day with a church service and a feast. It was not until December 26, 1941, however, that President Franklin D. Roosevelt, after pushing two years earlier to move the date earlier to give the country an economic boost, signed a bill into law with Congress, making Thanksgiving a national holiday and settling it to the fourth (but not final) Thursday in November.Thanksgiving TraditionSo, what is the tradition? Well the tradition is generally to gather with friends and family and eat too much, and be thankful for what we have in our lives. The main dish of Thanksgiving is turkey, some families will also roast a ham. The side dishes are just as important as the main dish. The sides (side dishes) include mashed potatoes and gravy. Yams, usually cooked with brown sugar. Stuffing, sometimes cooked inside the turkey cavity. Cranberry sauce, sweet corn, and other fall vegetables. The main meal is followed by desert and coffee. Pumpkin pie, apple pie, and pecan pie are traditional, sometimes with ice-cream and sometimes wit hout.   Usually the mother of the family cooks the turkey, but, in our family it is Paul!Vocabulary We say: Happy Thanksgiving.When at the dinner table say: Please pass the yams. If you can not reach the dish you want.What you will find at the dinner table: Forks, knives, spoons, plates, water glasses, and wine glasses.The food vocabulary: butter, sweet rolls, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, salt and pepper, salad, corn, vegetable, collard greens, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie, and coffee.hmmmhmmm! Enjoy!Sign up for: Online English Classes | Aulas de Inglês | Cursos de Inglés