THANKSGIVING

Just hear the word Thanksgiving and your mouth waters as you imagine the holiday meal: roast turkey with dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie for dessert. And you might think of the pilgrims, who we credit with starting the custom. But their first Thanksgiving was neither new nor American. It was a celebration of an old English harvest festival. It didn’t become an official U.S. holiday until 1941. To learn more about Thanksgiving, use the direct links on The Times’ Launch Point Web site. https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/

LEVEL 1

Thanksgiving: Its History, Customs and Traditions. Has Thanksgiving always been celebrated in November? And why do we have a national holiday in honor of a potluck held 370 years ago? Test your knowledge of Thanksgiving with an online quiz, then learn what inspired the holiday. https://wilstar.net/thanksgv.htm

Thanksgiving on the Net. Information about Thanksgiving--the history of harvest celebrations around the world, the story of the first American Thanksgiving, the significance of the turkey (including praise of its character by Benjamin Franklin). Print out some holiday pictures to color, or get a glimpse of a virtual turkey. https://www.holidays.net/thanksgiving

Fun Facts About Pilgrim Children. Find out what it was like to be a child growing up in New England in the 1600s. https://www.plimoth.org/funfacts.htm

LEVEL 2

The First Thanksgiving. An extensive collection of historical resources on Thanksgiving, including several Thanksgiving proclamations. Take a virtual tour of Plimoth Plantation, or try some recipes for creating your own 17th century-style harvest feast. https://www.night.net/thanksgiving/first.html-ssi

Happy Thanksgiving. Learn about the pilgrims and their settlement in Plymouth, and read the history of Thanksgiving from a Native American viewpoint. Includes links to some important historical documents as well as to some Thanksgiving activities. https://www.rundlepark.com/thanksg.htm

Plymouth: Its History and People. A quick introduction to why the pilgrims came to America, brief biographies of key historical figures and a list of the passengers who sailed on the Mayflower. https://media3.com/plymouth/history.htm

LEVEL 3

Plymouth-on-Web: The Library. An excellent site that gives an in-depth look at both the pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe, including many illustrations and timelines. https://www.plimoth.org/library.htm#plycol

Thanksgiving in American Memory. A look at Thanksgiving as experienced by Americans in the 1800s and 1900s. Firsthand accounts provide an unusual perspective on life in that era. https://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/thanks/thanks.html

Caleb Johnson’s Mayflower Web Pages. A well-organized site that offers a wide assortment of historical resources on the pilgrims, the Mayflower and the first Thanksgiving. Take a look at the clothing and the weapons of the pilgrims, read their letters and other documents, and learn more about Tisquantum, or Squanto, who taught the pilgrims. https://members.aol.com/calebj/mayflower.html

Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This week’s column was designed by Julie Hong, Lisa Winston, Stan Woo-Sam and Anna Manring.

EXPLORER’S QUEST

The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.

Which U.S. president proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November as the national day of Thanksgiving?

Clue: Use Thanksgiving: Its History, Customs and Traditions

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Answer to last week’s Quest:

Susan B. Anthony is pictured on the dollar coin.