Thanksgiving Day

Special Special DaysDays Thanksgiving Day

1 77 Listen and read.

Thanksgiving Day is celebrate in the United States of America and Canada. In the USA it is always on the fourth Thursday of November. In Canada it is on

the second Monday

of October.

Thanksgiving is a festival when Americans give thanks for their food.

The first Thanksgiving Day was on December 4, 1619. In the USA, schools are on holiday for four days, from Thursday to Monday. Many people travel all over the country for large family gatherings on this day.

There are also parades on Thanksgiving Day. The most famous parade is in New York City and you can see it on television. There are bands, balloons and floats. It’s amazing!

Families usually have a big lunch together. They eat turkey with stuffing and gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables and cranberry sauce. For dessert they eat pumpkin pie or apple pie.

After lunch lots of people watch American football. It’s a very important day in the NFL football calendar.

2 Answer the questions.

1 When is Thanksgiving Day in the USA? 2 When is Thanksgiving Day in Canada? 3 How long are the school holidays in the USA? 4 What do people have for lunch? 5 What do many people watch on television after lunch? 6 What is Black Friday?

The day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. It’s the biggest shopping day of the year!

Special Days

1 78 Listen and read.

Hi everybody! Our names are Loreen and Simon and we go to the same school in London. Today we want to tell you about the importance of water.

Water is necessary for our life!

Water is the most precious resource on our planet. Life isn’t possible without water. Here are six reasons why water is so important.

1

Water keeps our body healthy.

2

Water is necessary for our hygiene.

4

Water is necessary for growing food.

3

We need water for cooking.

5

Trees and animals need water.

6

Water produces energy.

Do you know that we are very lucky? We turn the tap on and the water comes out. But in some parts of the world many people don't have access to fresh water. This girl’s name is Amara and she lives in a village in Africa. She doesn’t have any water at home and every day she walks a long way to get some clean water.

That’s why we celebrate World Water day on March 22nd!

We organise a lot of events at school for World Water Day. Last year we were on a school trip with our science teacher along a river. In the afternoon, there was a Water Party at school with an exhibition of the best posters, drawings and poems about water. This year we’re preparing a big party, too. We are reading poems and singing songs about water.

Water is LIFE! So remember… DON’T WASTE WATER!

Special Days

1 79 Listen and read.

May Day is a public holiday usually celebrated on first May every year. It is a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. It is celebrated at the time of the year when the weather is warm and flowers and trees start to blossom. The origins of May Day are in the Roman festival of Flora, the goddess of flowers. Originally the festival was on 27th April.

A traditional dance is Maypole dancing. People dance around a maypole which is decorated with ribbons and flowers. The maypole is usually in a central place like the village square. Children wear colourful costumes and dance around the pole, holding ribbons.

Another traditional dance is Morris dancing. Men and women wear old-fashioned clothes and dance in the streets of towns and villages. The women wear long skirts. The men have bells on their knees and they carry short, black sticks.

There is also a May Queen. She is the replica of Flora. She usually wears a dress and a crown with flowers. She begins the May Day celebrations. She chooses her king, the Green Man and they walk together in the parade.

2 Read and choose: True or False?

1 May Day is celebrated on 27th April. 2 The weather is usually good on May Day. 3 The children dance around the pole with ribbons. 4 Morris dancing is only for women. 5 The May Queen wears a dress. True False