Thanksgiving is a very American holiday, so why are we discussing it here at Learn Deutsch with Me? Because it is kind of a big Feiertag in the United States and you just might want to talk about Thanksgiving in German! When I lived in Germany, I was asked a lot of questions. (For the record, yes, we do have Batterien.) But the thing I was asked about the most was our American Thanksgiving. Keep reading for vocabulary and some interactive exercises to practice!
Der, die oder das Thanksgiving?
It’s das Thanksgiving. If you ask Google translate, it is likely to give you another word entirely: das Erntedankfest. It is a very nice, very German, compound word containing three words that are important to our own Fest.
die Ernte — the harvest
der Dank — the thanks
das Fest — the festival, the feast
So literally, the harvest thanks feast. The problem is, that is an actual holiday in Germany. They celebrated it back in Oktober and it is about saying Danke for the Ernte. Erntedankfest was not a thing in Ostfriesland or Kiel (where I lived), but I have seen Fotos.
That Umzug has a little different Vibe than the Macy’s Thanksgiving-Day Umzug, does it not?
Schauen Sie sich die Macy’s Thanksgiving-Parade an?
Talking about Thanksgiving Essen. So much Essen.
When Amerikaner think about Thanksgiving, we mostly think about the Essen. It is often traditionell. We eat the same things every year and are not generally overly enthusiastisch about surprises. In fact, we are often known by our Gerichte (dishes) and are expected (sometimes assigned) to bring it to the Fest year after year.
Test your knowledge — and learn a few new words with this Thanksgiving matching game! Note: Pie, like a handful of other words, can be masculine or feminine. I chose feminine just because. I only object to Pie being called Kuchen, though it isn’t really Germany’s fault they don’t have a Piekultur.
Describing your Thanksgiving in German
After the meal is done (and of course you helped wash up, right?), the desserts are usually left out for all day nibbling. At least bei mir. There are a variety of activities a good Amerikaner might engage in and they all come with good verbs to learn.
Use these cards to check yourself. Answer the questions and then flip the card to see an answer (it may not be the only one possible).
For more practice, drop a comment below telling my about your Thanksgiving plans. And don’t forget to come back December 1 to open the first Türchen of our virtual Adventskalender!
I also created a simple escape game on Genially you are welcome to play. Viel Spaß!
Frohes Fest!