The origin of the Thanksgiving Day

　　This American tradition started in 1621 before the United States of America was established. It was a huge celebration for a hard-earned harvest the first year after arriving in the New World.

　　On September 6, 1620, the Mayflower ship set sail from Plymouth, Devon, England, taking all the English Pilgrims (清教徒)to the New World. The English Pilgrims numbered about a hundred people, and left England to escape religious persecution. Their voyage to the New World was financed by Merchant Adventurers, an English investor group.

　　The Pilgrims sailed sixty-six days, arrived in the New World in November of the same year. They first settled in a cornfield abandoned by Native Indians and named it Plymouth Plantation.

　　They worked on the land with much difficulty and were beset by a devastating plague in which half of the Pilgrim died in the long winter of 1620. In the spring of 1621, an Indian brave named Squanto and her Wampanoag (瓦帕濃人，北美印第安人阿爾琴族一部落)tribe came to their help. The tribe taught the Pilgrims how to work the earth and plant corn, beans, pumpkins, squash and other crops.

　　The Thanksgiving feast in 1621

　　In late September 1621, the Pilgrims were pleased with their great harvest. To celebrate their first harvest, the Pilgrims wanted to thank God and the Native Indian. They invited Squanto and the entire Wampanoag tribe that celebrate together in a shared feast.

　　It was said about ninety Wampanoag turned up, much to the surprise of the Pilgrims, whose population had shrunk to no more than 50. The chief of the tribe had his men hunt five deer to bring to the feast. The first Thanksgiving dinner had an elaborate menu with venison, wild turkey, goose, duck, crane, swan, and other waterfowl; they also has local seafood: clams, lobsters, mussels, salmon, cod, bass, herring, shad, bluefish, lots of eel and oysters. They also cooked plenty of vegetables, among them squash, pumpkins and beans were the most popular.

　　They ate raspberries, strawberries, grapes, plums, cherries, blueberries, walnuts, chestnuts, acorns, hickory and ground nuts, wheat flour, Indian corn and corn meal and they made beer out of barley. The pumpkin pudding was later developed into the traditional pumpkin pie.

　　The first Thanksgiving dinner is said to have lasted from three days to one week with much food, beer and liquor. The Pilgrims and the Native Indian sat together on the ground, shared food with fingers or used rough plates made of wood or stale bread. They ran races, played old English games and staged parades during the festive, with marches, drums and firing of their muskets.

　　"Thanksgiving" related to the Bible

　　The phrase "thanksgiving" initially comes from the Bible. The Pilgrims of Plymouth, however, were mainly Puritans and strict Calvinist Protestants. They only observed three religious holidays from the New Testament: Sunday Sabbath, Days of Fasting and humiliation and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving marked favourable ("mercies") in community life.

　　The first Thanksgiving festival was indeed a time of happiness, fellowship and rejoicing for the Pilgrims. They arranged a friendly treaty with the Native American Indians, built houses in the wilderness, and raised sufficient crops to feed themselves for the upcoming long winter. The Pilgrims had become the first generation of settlers in this new land holding so much promise.

　　From then on, Thanksgiving became a holiday for celebrating the harvest in the New World, dates varied from October to November each year over the next 150 years.

　　Thanksgiving, the National holiday

　　The first National Thanksgiving was declared by the Continental Congress in 1777. On October 3, 1789, President George Washington declared that the people of the United States should observe "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer" on Thursday, 26 November.

　　Many say the credit for the establishment of an annual Thanksgiving holiday should be given to Sarah Josepha Hale. Being the editor of Ladies Magazine and Godey's Lady's Book, she lobbied to the governors, senators, and presidents for a national holiday and published stories and recipes for that day in her magazine. After 36 years of crusading, she won her battle. In 1863, buoyed by the Union victory at Gettysburg, President Lincoln proclaimed that November 26, would be a national Thanksgiving Day, to be observed every year on the fourth Thursday of November.

　　In 1941, a Congressional Joint Resolution set the fourth Thursday of November as a national holiday for Thanksgiving.

　　There you are - the brief history of Thanksgiving- a day in America for families and friends to gather together. The festival is also celebrated by Americans living abroad. Thanks to the Native Americans and the Pilgrims who created this idea of a day of Thanksgiving all those live in the New World can be thankful for all we have and share the joy with our family members and friends.

　　Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and now is primarily identified as a secular holiday.

　　This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. The writer O. Henry called it the one day that is purely American. Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday. But it has spiritual meaning. Some Americans attend religious services on the day before Thanksgiving, or on Thanksgiving morning. Others travel long distances to be with their families. They have a large dinner, which is the main part of the celebration.

　　本周四是感恩節(jié)。作家歐·亨利把這一天稱為“純美國式”的節(jié)日。感恩節(jié)不是一個(gè)宗教節(jié)日，但它有宗教方面的含義。一些美國人在感恩節(jié)的前一天或是感恩節(jié)的早上參加宗教儀式，還有的長途跋涉和他們的家人團(tuán)聚。感恩節(jié)的主要慶祝方式是一桌豐盛的家庭晚宴。

　　For many Americans, Thanksgiving is the only time when all members of a family gather. The holiday is a time of family reunion.

　　對許多美國人來說，感恩節(jié)這一天是所有家庭成員歡聚一堂的難得時(shí)光。這個(gè)節(jié)日是家人團(tuán)聚的時(shí)刻。

　　Thanksgiving week is generally one of the busiest travel times of the year. Many Americans who usually visit family and friends by plane are driving shorter distances instead this week. Some mental-health experts say the attacks have frightened people. They say people feel safer and happier close to home.

　　感恩節(jié)這一周通常是全年中人們出行最為繁忙的時(shí)段之一。許多經(jīng)常坐飛機(jī)走親訪友的美國人這一周將改為短途駕車。一些心理健康專家認(rèn)為，恐怖襲擊令人們感到恐慌。他們說，人們在離家較近的地方會(huì)覺得更安全、更快樂。

　　More than any other holiday, Thanksgiving is a celebration of family and home. Many people say that this year they are especially thankful for their families and friends and the good things in their lives. On Thanksgiving, people enjoy a long day of cooking, eating and talking. The traditional meal almost always includes a turkey with a bread mixture cooked inside.

　　與其它節(jié)日不同，感恩節(jié)是一個(gè)家庭節(jié)日。許多人說，今年他們特別感謝他們的家人、朋友和生活中一切美好的事物。在感恩節(jié)，人們享受著一整天的烹調(diào)、美味和交談所帶來的快樂。傳統(tǒng)的感恩節(jié)大餐都包括一只火雞，火雞內(nèi)填滿面包和火雞一起做熟。

　　Other traditional Thanksgiving foods served with turkey are sweet potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie. Stores are said to sell more food at Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year. And many people eat more food at Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year.

　　其他和火雞相搭配的傳統(tǒng)感恩節(jié)食物有：紅薯，越橘和南瓜派。據(jù)說，感恩節(jié)前后，商店出售的食物比一年中的任何時(shí)候都要多。當(dāng)然，許多人在感恩節(jié)吃的食物也比一年中其它的時(shí)候要多。

　　Over the years, Americans have added new traditions to their Thanksgiving celebration. For example, a number of professional and university football games are played on Thanksgiving Day. Some of the games are broadcast on national television.

　　近年來，美國人給感恩節(jié)增添了新的慶祝方式。例如，在感恩節(jié)這一天會(huì)舉行由職業(yè)隊(duì)和大學(xué)生參加的橄欖球比賽。其中有些比賽在國家電視臺播放。