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VOA News - audio activity
Behind the Turkey : The Story
of Thanksgiving
Written by Jerilyn
Watson
19 November 2005
Listen to the report
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in
VOA Special English. I’m
Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. The
story of the Thanksgiving holiday
is our report this week.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
This Thursday is Thanksgiving
Day. Thanksgiving is celebrated
every year on the fourth Thursday
of November. The month of November
is in autumn, the main season
for harvesting crops.
The writer O. Henry called Thanksgiving
the one holiday that is purely
American. It is not a religious
holiday. But it has spiritual
meaning.
Some Americans travel long distances
to be with their families. They
eat a large dinner, which is the
main part of the celebration.
For many people, Thanksgiving
is the only time when all members
of a family gather. The holiday
is a time of family reunion.
VOICE TWO:
Alma Scott-Buczak gathers her
family for Thanksgiving dinner
every year. She welcomes about
thirty people to her home in northern
New Jersey, near New York City.
Guests sit at several tables.
Children eat together at their
own table. Most people who are
invited are relatives. But anyone
can bring a friend.
Miz Scott-Buczak serves the traditional
American Thanksgiving dinner.
But she adds a few special foods
that are especially popular in
some African-American homes, dishes
like sweet potato pie and corn
pudding.
Before the meal begins, the people
all say a few words about what
they are most thankful for.
VOICE ONE:
The family of Ismaila Sanghua
of Silver Spring, Maryland, also
eats a large Thanksgiving dinner.
It comes just weeks after their
big dinner that celebrated the
Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr,
the end of the observance of Ramadan.
Mister Sanghua was born in Sierra
Leone. He says the family began
a Thanksgiving tradition because
the children, ages nine through
sixteen, wanted to celebrate an
American holiday.
VOA producer, writer and editor
Subhash Vohra was born in India.
Mister Vohra has been a journalist
there and in Britain and Germany.
He says he is pleased to take
part in the traditions of places
where he lives. He says he, his
wife and two daughters have been
enjoying an American Thanksgiving
holiday meal in this country for
many years.
VOICE TWO:
More than twenty Korean young
people will eat their first Thanksgiving
dinner on Thursday in Washington,
D.C. The celebration is for first-year
international students at the
Wesley Theological Seminary, a
graduate school for religious
studies. Several students said
they are looking forward to learning
about this American custom.
Listen now as the Paul Hillier
Singers present an early-American
song of thanks, “Give Good
Gifts One to Another.”
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Joan and Sandy Horwitt of Arlington,
Virginia, have been holding a
Thanksgiving dinner for almost
thirty years. All the guests bring
food to share. The Horwitts started
this tradition when they moved
to Virginia from the Midwest.
They regretted not being able
to be with all their family members.
But they soon met new friends.
So they started a holiday dinner
for others who were also unable
to travel to family homes for
the holiday.
At first, many people brought
their babies and young children.
Now some of the first guests are
grandparents.
Mister and Missus Horwitt serve
a turkey as the center of the
meal. So do many other Americans.
Most people serve it with a cooked
bread mixture inside.
VOICE TWO:
This year, some Americans asked
poultry companies if it all right
to eat turkey. These people feared
bird flu, a disease that has struck
birds in Asia and Europe. But
public officials say no turkeys
in the United States have been
infected with the deadly kind
of avian influenza.
Other traditional Thanksgiving
foods served with turkey are potatoes,
a cooked fruit called cranberries
and pumpkin pie. Many people eat
more at Thanksgiving than at any
other time of the year.
Some families serve other meats
besides turkey. And some American
homes have vegetarian Thanksgiving
dinners. This means no meat is
served.
VOICE ONE:
Many Americans also help others
who might not have had a chance
for Thanksgiving dinner. All across
America, thousands of religious
and service organizations provide
holiday meals for old people,
the homeless and the poor.
Over the years, Americans have
added new traditions to their
Thanksgiving celebration. For
example, a number of professional
and college 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 parades. For example, Macy’s
has a very famous Thanksgiving
Day parade in New York.
VOICE TWO:
Thanksgiving began with the first
European settlers in America.
They gathered their crops, celebrated
and gave thanks for the food.
Tradition says Pilgrim 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’ thanksgiving
story is the most popular.
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 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 ONE:
When spring came, the pilgrims
began to plant crops. An American
Indian named Squanto helped them.
When summer ended, the Pilgrims
had a good harvest of corn and
barley. There was enough food
to last through the winter.
The Pilgrims decided 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 to take part.
There were many kinds of food
to eat. The meal included wild
birds such as ducks, geese and
turkeys. That thanksgiving celebration
lasted three days.
Listen as Paul Hillier leads his
singers in “The Apple Tree.”
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
As the American colonies grew,
many towns and settlements held
thanksgiving or harvest celebrations.
Yet it took two hundred fifty
years before a national observance
was declared.
In the eighteen twenties, a writer
named Sarah Josepha Hale began
a campaign for an official holiday.
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 declared that
the holiday would be celebrated
every year on the fourth Thursday
in November.
VOICE ONE:
As in the past, many Americans
will gather on Thursday with family
and friends. We will share what
we have. And we will give thanks
for the good things of the past
year.
VOICE TWO:
Our program was written by Jerilyn
Watson and produced by Caty Weaver.
Internet users can read and listen
to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com.
I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Faith Lapidus. Please
join us again next week for another
report about life in the United
States, on THIS IS AMERICA in
VOA Special English.
We leave you now as the Boston
Pops Orchestra and chorus perform
“Prayer of Thanksgiving.”
(MUSIC)
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