Night of Thanksgiving: English people often declared a “Thanksgiving” when something good happened. The London Company had a “day of Thanksgiving” at Berkeley Hundred, Virginia in 1619 to celebrate their new colony.
In 1620 the Mayflower brought the Pilgrims to Massachusetts. They made their new home in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, 380 km northeast of what is now New York.
In the United States, the Thanksgiving holiday is a four-day holiday over a weekend, starting on Thanksgiving Thursday and ending on Sunday. Families and friends usually eat a special meal together (usually with a turkey as the main dish). This meal also usually includes mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, several casseroles, and stuffing. The food eaten today for Thanksgiving is very different from the food that was eaten at the First Thanksgiving in 1621.
Night of Thanksgiving: Lauren
T’was the night of Thanksgiving,
But I just couldn’t sleep.
I tried counting backwards,
I tried counting sheep.
The leftovers beckoned,
The dark meat and white.
But I fought the temptation,
With all of my might.
Tossing and turning,
with anticipation.
The thought of a snack
became infatuation.
So I raced to the kitchen,
Flung open the door,
And gazed at the fridge,
Full of goodies galore.
I gobbled up turkey,
And buttered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots,
Beans and tomatoes.
I felt myself swelling,
So plump and so round.
‘til all of a sudden,
I rose off the ground.
I crashed through the ceiling,
Floating into the sky,
With a mouthful of pudding,
And a handful of pie.
But I managed to yell
As I soared past the trees
Happy eating to all,
Pass the cranberries, please!
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious,
May your pies take the prize
And May your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off of your thighs!