THE USA

(The United States of America)

A bit of geography

The United States is a very big country located in North America.

• It´s got 50 states and a federal district, Washington DC, its capital city.

• It lies between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

• It´s bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south.

Over 312 million people

live in the United States.

It is the third largest

country in the

world.

Mountains

• Largest mountain range:

Rocky Mountains

Rivers

• Largest river system:

Mississippi River

Lakes

• Largest lake system:

The Great Lakes

It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, because of the inmigration from many

countries.

Languages

• The most spoken language in the United States is English.

• The second language is Spanish.

President and currency

The president of the US is Mr. Barack Obama.

The currency is the dollar.

American Symbols

Symbols

The flag

The colours of the flag are red, white and blue.

There are 50 stars to represent 50 states.

The 13 stripes represent the first thirteen colonies.

The Statue of Liberty

• She was a gift from France.• She stands in New York Harbour.• She´s also known as Lady Liberty

because she is a symbol of freedom and democracy.

• She represented hope and freedom to the immigrants who came here from other countries.

The Bald Eagle

• The bald eagle is the symbol of the USA because it symbolizes courage, strength, and freedom.

• The bald eagle can be seen in many places like the President’s flag, and on a one dollar bill.

The Liberty Bell

• The liberty bell is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

• It rang when Congress signed the Declaration of Independence.

• In 1846 a crack appeared.

Mount Rushmore

• Memorial in honour of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln.

• It is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The White House

• It is the home of the President.• It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,

Washington, D.C.• George Washington is the only President who

didn’t live there.• The President’s Office is called the Oval Office.

Uncle Sam

• Congress adopted Uncle Sam as an official symbol in 1961.

• He is best known for his army recruiting posters, which said…

»I want you!

The Washington Monument

• It was built as a memorial to the first President, George Washington.

• Its image is mirrored in the reflecting pond.

Superstitions

Superstitions

Good or bad luck?

Are these good luck or bad luck

for Northamericans?

Celebrities

Singers

Actors and actresses

Sports

TRADITIONS

• Thanksgiving Day.

• Christmas.

• Independence Day.

THANKSGIVING DAY

Thanksgiving day is celebrated on the last Thursday in November.

On Thanksgivingfamilies get togetherand have a big harvestfeast! They eat turkey,corn, stuffing,potatoes, pumpkin pie,

...Everyone gets a BIGstomach ache!

One of the customs onThanksgiving is beingthankful for peoplecoming to your house.

In turns, each onesays: “I´m thankfulfor…”

A bit of History

Thanksgiving became a holidayalmost 400 years ago, in 1621, when a group of EnglishPilgrims arrived to Americaand settled in 1620. They were a group of Puritanswho escaped from Englanddue to their religion believes.

.

The pilgrims travelledto America on a shipcalled the “Mayflower.”

The trip to America waslong and hard. Therewere storms and theship was really crowded.

• When they got to America, it was winter and there were no food or houses.

• Many of the pilgrims died from sickness, starvation and freezing to death.

• There were some people who lived in America already: Indians. They saw the Pilgrims suffering and they decided to help them.

• They showed them how to hunt and fish.

• They showed them how to grow different plants, like corn and pumpkins.

• They helped them build houses out of the trees there.

• When it was winter again, the Pilgrims had food and a place to live.

• They were so happy that they decided to have a feast and invite their friends, the Indians.”

• So they had a great feast that lasted for a whole week.

• They ate the typical autumn food: turkey, fish, deer, sweet potatoes, corn and pumpkin.

• But the first thing they did was to say thanks for having friends, food, houses and a place to live.

• And this tradition continues today.

CHRISTMAS IN THE USA

Outdoor decorations

• The Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving Day. People decorate their houses with Christmas lights, wreaths and evergreen branches.

Indoor decorations

• People decorate the insides of their houses too. The most popular decoration is the Christmas tree, with lots of lights, tinsel and ornaments, especially candy canes. At the top, they put a star or an angel.

Stockings

• People also hang stockings by the fireplace or on the staircase.

Carol singers

• Some people go door to door singing Christmas carols too.

Christmas cookies

• Another tradition is to bake Christmas cookies. People eat them all over the season, but children leave Christmas cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Mistletoe

• Another tradition says that if you stands under the mistletoe, you can be kissed or you can kiss someone.

New year´s Eve

• The Christmas season ends with New year´s.

• On New Year´s Eve in Times Square in New York, there is a large ball that drops and counts down (10 seconds) to the new year at midnight. This is broadcasted so that people all over the country can watch it on TV.

Virginia