What is Thanksgiving?

Every Thanksgiving, we used to go to my grandma’s house for a HUGE lunch with my HUGE family. As a kid, Thanksgiving was just a big meal. But more and more, I really see it as a time to think about all the good things I have in my life and to be thankful for them.

But what is Thanksgiving?

What will your American colleagues be doing for this typically American holiday? The best way to find out  is to ask them!

Before, though, you’ll want to watch this week’s Speak English lesson. After all, I kind of think of myself as your American colleague, since we work together to boost your English 🙂

You’ll learn all about what we do on Thanksgiving, what we eat, and even a special connection that France has to one of the greatest American Thanksgiving traditions: football! (The American kind, not the rest-of-the world kind).

You’ll get a lot of vocabulary for talking about Thanksgiving and holidays in general. After all, good food, family, and fun are part of any good holiday!

Thanksgiving Traditions In The USA

You can celebrate Thanksgiving too, with these recipes (des recettes):

 For dressing, homemade cranberry sauce, and THE green bean casserole that my mom makes every year (and that I love!)

I also recommend the site MyAmericanMarket.com if you want to taste some real American products. The StoveTop stuffing is to die for (at least for this American—best stuff ever!)

Finally, I hope you enjoyed watching this video. I know that I’m going to enjoy eating the cranberry sauce and pumpkin purée (that I’m going to use to make a pumpkin pie) used in creating today’s episode! Yum!

The Macy’s Day Parade is also live streamed, and you can watch this year’s parade here (live Thursday at 9 am New York Time / 4 pm Paris time), or watch a recording of the 2013 parade. It’s as much a Thanksgiving tradition as the roast turkey!

Now, I’d be very thankful if you shared something with the Speak English community:

Have you ever had any typical Thanksgiving dishes?

What other questions do you have about Thanksgiving?

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making Speak English with Christina such a great place. I love what I do, thanks to you.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Christina

P.S.

You can get more lessons on American culture and everyday conversations with the Small Talk Starter Box.