LO STRADELLINO

by Larisa Annamaria Muresan and Aurora Pisano (2F)

Hi everybody! Do you know that today is the Thanksgiving Day?

WHAT IS THANKSGIVING AND WHY DO AMERICANS CELEBRATE IT?

Thanksgiving  is a national and an annual holiday in the U.S.A. and in Canada. In America, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the forth Thursday of November each year, while in Canada it is celebrated on the second Monday of October. People celebrate the harvest and other blessings of the past year. Americans generally believe that their thanksgiving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English Pilgrims. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag tribe shared an autumn harvest feast that is known today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, during the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
Thanksgiving began with a few colonists going out ‘fowling’ for turkeys. In one day they killed so many animals that they could eat for a whole week. The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “Thanksgiving” to  thank God for blessing as military victory or the end of a drought. 

Thanksgiving is important because it’s a positive and secular holiday where they celebrate gratitude, something that we don’t do enough of these days. It’s also a celebration of the fall harvest.

WHAT ARE THE TRADITIONAL MEALS?

On Thanksgiving American people eat:

TURKEY

The turkey is always filled with fruit, vegetables or other things it’s usually seasoned which means it’s covered in herbs for flavor and for smell then the turkey is getting roasted meaning its getting cooked in an oven or over an open fire.

MASHED POTATOES

Mashed Potatoes are potatoes that have been boiled and peeled then crushed into a soft cream.

GRAVY

While you are cooking the turkey, it will create juices. These juices can be turned into gravy, a thick savory sauce. This sauce is usually poured into the mashed potatoes to give them more flavor.

CRANBERRY SAUCE

There is something about the cranberry sauce that makes it the perfect side dish for turkey. To make cranberry sauce you need to: boil cranberries, sugar, lemon peel and water then cook it on a small flame. That’s all you need to do!

Easy right?

CORN

You might eat corn on the cob, which is grilled whole corn or creamed corn.

And…last but not least, Her Highness the PUMPKIN PIE!

The Native Americans brought pumpkins as gifts to the first settlers, and taught them the many uses for pumpkin. This led to serving pumpkin pie at the Thanksgiving feast.

A curiosity about the name ‘pumpkin’: it originated from the Greek word for large melon, “pepon.” The French changed “pepon” to “pompon.” The English termed it “pumpion” or “pompion.”

Thanksgiving reflects a sense of connection among people and cultures. In these difficult times, we need this day more than ever. 

Whether you are American or not, there is always something to be grateful for!

SO…HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!