An important holiday in North America is held during the fall, or autumn, season of the year. This holiday is called Thanksgiving. At this time of year, people join with their relatives to reflect upon their good fortune. Thanksgiving is a holiday that has a long history in North America. It was first celebrated when English settlers arrived in the eastern part of what is now the United States, during the seventeenth century. When they survived the first hard year, they celebrated and gave thanks to God. They invited some of the Native people to their Thanksgiving celebration, because the Native people had helped them to survive during the hard winter. The tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving continued and spread throughout North America. Each fall, during the time of the autumn harvest, people celebrated Thanksgiving. They gave thanks for the food of the harvest, and for all the good things in their lives. Today, the tradition of Thanksgiving celebration continues. Families gather to eat a large bird called a turkey. They also eat pumpkin pie. This is a sweet dessert that is made from a large orange vegetable that grows on the ground. In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. But the following day, Friday, is also a holiday, and then comes the weekend. In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October. The reason for the earlier celebration in Canada is that the weather is colder than in the United States. This means that the harvest happens earlier in Canada, so Thanksgiving is held at an earlier date. But in both countries, Thanksgiving is a very pleasant time of year.
