Hello and welcome to this eighth episode of the ShiftEnglish podcast. My name is Joseph, and I am a British-American living in New Orleans, Louisiana. It’s nice to be back with you again, and a special welcome if it’s your first time listening. My goal here, as always, is to help you learn English in a natural, relaxed way while exploring something original and interesting topics.
We are just past Halloween here in the USA. I know Halloween isn’t such a big deal everywhere in the world, but let me tell you, here in New Orleans, people go all out for Halloween. Ah yes, nice phrase to kick off today’s episode! To go all out. To go all out means to put in as much effort, energy, or enthusiasm as possible to do something – to do it completely or without holding back.
So, when I say people here go all out for Halloween, it means they put a lot of effort into dressing up. A lot of people even make their own costumes. Scary costumes, sure, like creepy clowns. But also, creative costumes that are meant to be funny. And I think there are maybe as much adults that dress up for Halloween than kids here. Maybe more honestly.
And what do all these adults that are dressed up in their costumes do for Halloween? Well, they go party typically. They go to the bars. They go to the clubs. They walk around the streets to show off their costumes. So that others can see the costumes they put effort in to create.
Halloween is a fun time. As a kid in the United Kingdom, I would go trick-or-treating. Knocking on doors in my ghost costume, or whatever the costume was that year. I would tell a joke with my friends, or my brothers. Get some sweets. Or candy, as they say here in the USA. So Halloween is a holiday I grew up with, and I know well. I get it. I understand it.
But Thanksgiving on the other hand, is North American only. It doesn’t exist in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year. So, this year, 2025, that will be Thursday, November 27th.
Now that Halloween is over, the attention here is on to Thanksgiving. And I have to admit, after living in the United States for more than ten years, I still don’t really understand Thanksgiving. Every November, I see people traveling across the country, talking about turkey, football, and “giving thanks,” and I always think to myself – wait, what exactly are we celebrating again? What is everyone so thankful for?
When I first arrived in America, I thought Thanksgiving was just an excuse to eat way too much food and then fall asleep on the sofa, which, to be fair, isn’t entirely wrong. But the more I’ve learned, the more I’ve realized that Thanksgiving is this mix of history, myth, tradition, and emotion, all wrapped up in one big meal. So, in today’s episode, we’re going to explore what Thanksgiving really is about, where it came from, and what it says about American culture. And along the way, as usual, we’ll learn some new English words and expressions.
Remember there is the full transcript for free at ShiftEnglish.com along with a list of trickier vocabulary and their definitions.
So, when you’re ready, grab your imaginary plate of turkey, settle in, and let’s get started.
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Before we talk about turkey and football, I think it’s worth asking how this whole thing began. Because Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that a lot of people in North America celebrate, but if you ask five people what it’s about, you might get five different answers. Which is part of why I needed to do this episode, to better understand!
The traditional story, the one most Americans grow up with, starts in the year 1621. A group of English settlers called the Pilgrims had recently arrived in what is today the state of Massachusetts. They had survived a difficult winter – many people had died – and when the next harvest came, they wanted to celebrate being alive. According to the story, they shared a big meal with the local Native Americans who had helped them survive that first year. And that meal, we are told, was the “first Thanksgiving.”
Now, whether that exact meal really happened the way we imagine is another question. Historians agree that there was some kind of harvest celebration, but the details are less clear. The popular story we hear today, of everyone happily sitting together, sharing food in perfect harmony, was mostly built later, to create a symbol of peace and unity. It became part of the American mythology. And mythology, by the way, means the set of stories and legends that help define a culture, even if they’re not all 100% true.
Honestly, I don’t want to sound too skeptical. Which means doubting that something is true or right. But I am skeptical that this is the reason really that Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. Considering what White European settlers did to Native American communities… well, it wasn’t exactly one big happy family, as I’ll discuss a bit more later.
I think the Pilgrim story was a clever bit of propaganda used later. A clever story used later. And largely it came to exist thanks to a very interesting woman called Sarah Josepha Hale. In fact, in studying the origins of Thanksgiving her name came up again and again.
I could do a whole episode on her alone frankly. But briefly for now, Sarah Josepha Hale was an American writer, activist, and editor of one of the most popular magazines at the time. And remember this was around the very early 1800’s when women had very limited rights. Interesting side note, she also wrote Mary Had a Little Lamb, a nursery rhyme for children which just about all native anglophones learn when very young, myself included.
Anyway, I definitely recommend doing some research on this interesting historical person if you have some time. But why she is important in our story is because she personally campaigned for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday. She believed the country needed a moment of gratitude and togetherness.
She wrote several letters to several presidents, who weren’t convinced, who didn’t agree to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Eventually, after 17 years in fact, President Abraham Lincoln agreed. In 1863, during the American Civil War, one of the darkest periods in U.S. history, he declared Thanksgiving an official national holiday. The idea was to remind people to be thankful even in difficult times.
So, what started as a harvest meal in one small colony became a national tradition of thankfulness – and, over time, a massive dinner involving millions of ovens, billions of calories, and a terrifying time to be a turkey. Sorry, turkeys.
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So that’s where Thanksgiving comes from. But what does it look like now? Well, today’s Thanksgiving has changed a lot from that small harvest meal in the 1600s. These days, it’s one of the biggest holidays in the United States.
In fact, my son for example, gets a whole week off of school for Thanksgiving! As do most kids, I should add. Even the adults get a couple of days off of work. Sometimes the week off if they are really lucky. But you know, Americans don’t get great holiday time off. Usually only around 10 to 15 days of paid time off per year.
Modern Thanksgiving, involves three main things, at least in the American homes I’ve passed Thanksgiving in. It’s all about three things: food, family, and football. American football I should add. Too bad. I would be way more into it if it was regular football.
First, the food. Almost every household has some kind of huge meal – usually with a turkey in the center of the table. Turkey is the star of the show. The dead star of the show. Ok, not very funny. People also prepare mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie for dessert. It’s not exactly a light meal. In fact, there’s a funny expression people use: “I’m stuffed.” It means you’ve eaten so much that you feel completely full – like a turkey stuffed with bread.
But Thanksgiving isn’t just about the food. It’s also a time when families travel often long distances to be together. In fact, the day before Thanksgiving is usually the busiest travel day of the entire year in the U.S. Airports are full, highways are packed, and patience levels are… well, low. It’s kind of like Christmas in this sense. Travel is kind of a nightmare.
Then there’s the football. Thanksgiving Day always includes big American football games on television. Some families even play their own games outside before dinner. Yeah, because playing after would not be possible. After eating Thanksgiving, the only thing possible is taking a nap. Laying down on a couch and sleeping. Or maybe watching the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from New York City with the giant balloons floating between the skyscrapers. Just like the Pilgrims did back in 1600… yeah, not exactly.
For many, Thanksgiving is a warm and happy time – a chance to eat, relax, and reconnect. But let’s be honest, sometimes it can also be a little stressful. You have all the family members together in one place, everyone is tired of cooking, and sooner or later, someone brings up politics. If that happens, people usually say, “Let’s not talk about politics at the dinner table.” It’s one of those unspoken rules that helps keep the peace. Especially right now, my god, it is really best to avoid politics.
And so, yeah, the food, the football, and the family…chaos. But what about this aspect of being “thankful”. It is after all called Thanksgiving. How is that aspect present in modern day Thanksgiving?
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If you ask most Americans, they’ll say Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful – to stop for a moment and think about what’s good in your life. And that sounds simple, right? But in reality, I think it’s something many of us forget to do. Life moves fast. We’re always trying to get to the next thing, the next job, the next trip, the next project and sometimes we forget to notice what’s already good.
That’s what Thanksgiving tries to remind us of: gratitude. To be grateful means to appreciate the good things you already have, even the small things. It’s very similar to thankful, but grateful often feels a bit deeper or more emotional. You might say, “I’m grateful for my friends,” or “I’m grateful for my health.”
There’s also a popular English expression – to count your blessings. It means to take a moment to notice and appreciate all the positive things in your life, instead of focusing on what’s missing. Another is to give thanks, which is a more traditional or formal way of saying thank you.
But what’s interesting to me is that gratitude can be both genuine and… a little performative. On Thanksgiving Day, people sometimes go around the table and each person says what they’re thankful for. It’s a nice idea, but it can also feel a bit forced – like, “I’m thankful for my family,” “I’m thankful for my job,” “I’m thankful this meal is finally ready.” Everyone claps politely and passes the potatoes.
Still, I think there’s something significant to it. Even if the words feel a bit rehearsed, a bit forced the act of trying to be thankful is still meaningful. Gratitude, like any habit, gets stronger the more you practice it.
And maybe that’s what Thanksgiving is really about – not the turkey, not the football, not the shopping the next day – but the reminder, even just once a year, to stop and say: things aren’t perfect, but there’s still a lot to be grateful for.
But before I start sounding so happy happy about Thanksgiving – I did say earlier that there is a complicated side to this Holiday. A darker side. And on these ShiftEnglish podcasts I really want to try at least and give you the full picture. To give you the complete understanding of whatever the topic is, not just part of it.
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Of course, like many traditions, Thanksgiving also has another side, a more complicated one. Because while the story of Pilgrims and Native Americans sharing a peaceful meal is comforting, it leaves out what happened afterwards. The arrival of European settlers eventually brought disease, war, and the loss of land for many Indigenous peoples. The people that were already on the land now known as North America. So, for some Native Americans, Thanksgiving is not a day of celebration – it’s a Day of Mourning. It’s a day of remembering what was lost.
In fact, every year, on the same day that most Americans are eating turkey, groups gather in Plymouth, Massachusetts – the same area where that first Thanksgiving supposedly happened to remember their ancestors and to honor their history. They are not rejecting gratitude, but they are asking people to remember the full story. I think this is a rather poignant gesture.
Poignant is a word I like a lot in English. It has a softness to it, a subtlety to the way it sounds. But it isn’t the simplest word, unless you are French, because it is a word, like many other words, which is shared with the French language. Poignant means emotionally moving, something that touches your heart deeply, often with a mix of sadness and beauty. And so, it is a poignant gesture, I find, to commemorate their history on this day and at this place.
This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. But I think it’s good to recognize that every culture’s traditions are complex. They can mean different things to different people. And understanding those differences, even just being aware of them, is part of what makes us more thoughtful, more empathetic humans.
Maybe, in that sense, Thanksgiving can also be a reminder that gratitude doesn’t have to ignore history. We can be thankful for what we have today and still recognize that not everyone has had the same opportunities or story.
— transition —
So, coming back to the initial question – what is Thanksgiving really about? I suppose it depends on who you ask. For some, it’s about family and food. For others, it’s about reflection and gratitude. And for some, it’s also a time to remember the parts of history that are harder to face.
I am happy that I finally took the time to sit down to study the story behind Thanksgiving. But I have to admit, that even after doing so I still feel a little vague about Thanksgiving. A little lost about my feelings on it. I think it’s nice the idea of giving thanks. I think gratitude is important, and something I value. But what I mainly observe isn’t very reflective I think of this message.
Maybe I am just doing Thanksgiving wrong, but what I see mainly is consummation. About buying things and eating things. It just has a feeling, for me, of being “too much”. I didn’t even talk about “Black Friday”. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States and is famous for big sales and discounts in stores. It is a day literally about buying things.
Anyway, at least now that I know there is historically an element of gratitude, I myself can be more intentional in my gratitude for this year’s Thanksgiving. And I can be more aware of the Native American perspective. Actually, I found a great tool which I will put a link to on the transcript at my website. It’s an interactive tool let’s you see which Indigenous nation originally lived on the land where you are now. I am thinking to use this as something I can show the people I am with at Thanksgiving – as a way of opening a deeper conversation.
And finally, since this is ShiftEnglish, let me also say I’m thankful for you – for listening, for being curious, and for continuing to learn with me. You can find the full transcript and vocabulary list, as always, on my site at ShiftEnglish.com.
Next week I am going to be discussing tipping culture – the custom of giving extra money to people who serve you, like in a restaurant, taxi, or bar. Because tipping in the USA is way different from tipping in the UK. And it seems like each country I visit is different, and it drives me a bit nuts. A bit crazy. So, I thought it could be fun and also helpful to do an episode about that. Anway hope you can join me for that one. And until then, have a lovely week!
Vocabulary
go all out – to use all your effort or energy to do something; to do it completely.
Example: She went all out for her birthday party.
show off – to act in a way that makes people notice you, often to impress them.
Example: He likes to show off his new car.
trick-or-treating – a Halloween activity where children go from house to house asking for candy.
Example: The kids went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.
traditional – something done the same way for a long time; part of a custom.
Example: Eating turkey is traditional at Thanksgiving.
survived – stayed alive after something dangerous or difficult.
Example: They survived the storm without injury.
harvest – the time when crops are gathered; the food collected from fields.
Example: Farmers celebrate after the harvest.
harmony – when people or things live or work peacefully together.
Example: The group lived in harmony with nature.
mythology – old stories or legends that explain beliefs or history.
Example: Greek mythology has many gods and heroes.
skeptical – not easily convinced; having doubts.
Example: She was skeptical about the new diet.
propaganda – information used to influence people’s opinions, often showing only one side.
Example: The government used propaganda during the war.
origins – where something begins or comes from.
Example: The origins of this custom are very old.
activist – a person who works to change something in society.
Example: She’s an environmental activist.
editor – a person who prepares writing for a newspaper, book, or magazine.
Example: The editor corrected the spelling mistakes.
campaigned – worked or organized actions to reach a goal, often political or social.
Example: They campaigned for women’s right to vote.
colony – a place controlled by another country.
Example: The 13 American colonies belonged to Britain.
stuffed – completely full; often used after eating too much.
Example: I’m stuffed after that big meal.
nightmare – a very bad dream.
Example: I had a nightmare about falling.
nap – a short sleep during the day.
Example: I took a nap after lunch.
the peace – a calm or quiet state; when there is no fighting.
Example: After the war, everyone hoped for the peace.
aspect – one part or side of something.
Example: The financial aspect of the plan is important.
grateful – feeling thankful for something good.
Example: I’m grateful for my friends.
performative – done only to look good to others, not from real feeling.
Example: His apology seemed performative.
rehearsed – practiced before doing something for real.
Example: The actors rehearsed their lines many times.
full picture – complete understanding of a situation.
Example: We need the full picture before deciding.
Indigenous – the first or original people of a place.
Example: Indigenous peoples lived there long before Europeans arrived.
mourning – deep sadness after someone dies or after loss.
Example: The family was in mourning after his death.
poignant – deeply moving; making you feel strong emotion, often sad and beautiful.
Example: It was a poignant movie about love and loss.
subtlety – the quality of being delicate or not obvious.
Example: I liked the subtlety of her joke.
complex – made of many parts; not simple.
Example: The problem is complex and needs time.
empathetic – able to understand and share another person’s feelings.
Example: She’s very empathetic toward her students.
reflection – careful thought about something.
Example: After some reflection, he changed his mind.
intentional – done on purpose, not by accident.
Example: His comment was intentional, not random.
aware – knowing or noticing something.
Example: Are you aware of the new rule?
interactive – involving people actively taking part, not just watching.
Example: The website has interactive language games.
tipping – giving extra money to someone for good service.
Example: Tipping is common in U.S. restaurants.
Links
https://native-land.ca/ — see which Indigenous nation originally lived on the land