感恩節(jié)這個(gè)聽著就讓人心里暖暖的節(jié)日，其實(shí)是源自美國(guó)。今天我們就來(lái)談?wù)劽绹?guó)人是怎么過感恩節(jié)的。發(fā)現(xiàn)了好多自己形成已久的誤區(qū)啊。大家來(lái)和小編一起看看吧，說不定你原來(lái)想的也是不對(duì)的呢。
感恩節(jié)是要謝誰(shuí)？
History
Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a time "to give thanks" for a plentiful harvest, because it is celebrated on the last Thursday of November at the end of the harvest season.
However, the history of Thanksgiving is not clear, because the harvest season is celebrated in many countries and cultures. Americans commonly celebrate the first harvest of the "pilgrims", or the first colonists to settle in North America, in 1621. Many colonists came to the New World for religious freedom, because England did not allow diversity in religion. Native Americans and colonists did not always live together peacefully, but they did learn from each other by trading goods and farming methods. So many people celebrate the first successful harvest of the colonists.
我們最初知道“感恩節(jié)”，是老師在課堂上講的關(guān)于“五月花號(hào)”（Mayflower）的故事。據(jù)說那時(shí)候不堪忍受英國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)宗教迫害的一群清教徒到達(dá)美洲。當(dāng)時(shí)，美國(guó)的印第安人給移民送來(lái)了生活必需品，還特地派人教他們?cè)鯓俞鳙C、捕魚和種植玉米、南瓜。于是，最初為了感謝美洲原住民，誕生了這么一個(gè)節(jié)日。
如今的原住民還是生活在美國(guó)各處，他們有自己的tribe，以及自己的tribal law，有些原住民也會(huì)走出自己祖先的土地和所有其他美國(guó)人一起讀書，不過一眼就能看出他們和美國(guó)人長(zhǎng)得實(shí)在相差很多，是比較接近亞洲人的長(zhǎng)相哦。
Thankfulness
Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a religious holiday, as a time to give thanks to God for the blessings in one's life. People can be thankful for things like their good health, the safety of their families, or having good friends. All of these things are called "blessings", or things that God has given us.
For Americans who are not religious, thankfulness is just a feeling of gratitude. It is easy to forget how lucky we are, so Thanksgiving is a time to be reminded of the priceless things in our lives. Many families talk about what they are thankful for as they are sitting around the dinner table before they start the meal.
一開始小編以為感恩節(jié)是用來(lái)感謝朋友，家人一年內(nèi)對(duì)自己的照顧，原來(lái)人家是來(lái)感謝上帝的??！外國(guó)朋友似乎也對(duì)于咱們的理解頗為詫異呢。
據(jù)外國(guó)朋友的描述，全家聚在一起坐在餐桌前，在正式開動(dòng)之前，每個(gè)人會(huì)先說一番話來(lái)回顧自己這一年，遇到了哪些值得感謝的事情。其實(shí)有的時(shí)候，我們身邊從來(lái)不缺少值得感謝的事情，懷著一顆感恩的心面對(duì)每一天，生活也會(huì)變得溫暖陽(yáng)光起來(lái)吧。
感恩節(jié)吃啥玩啥？
Family
Thanksgiving is usually celebrated by getting together with lots of family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. The meal is held in one family's home, and it is common for guests to bring drinks, snacks and desserts. Because Thanksgiving is close to Christmas, families can spend one holiday with the mother's family and the other holiday with the father's family. University students can invite boyfriends, girlfriends or friends whose families live too far away to come home with them for the holiday.
感恩節(jié)大家會(huì)上哪兒聚會(huì)呢？外國(guó)朋友說，感恩節(jié)才不是用來(lái)聚會(huì)的呢，是像咱的中秋元宵一樣的，全家團(tuán)聚在一起吃飯的家庭大集會(huì)！在餐桌上，很多時(shí)候都能看到長(zhǎng)得像蛋筒一樣的“cornucopia”，是專門用來(lái)放水果的，非常有特色吧。
不過和咱喜歡吃一頓豐盛的晚餐不一樣，美國(guó)人通常是把重頭戲放在午餐的時(shí)候。下午的時(shí)候就是全家一起看看電視聊聊天，或者去家里的backyard打打橄欖球之類的家族活動(dòng)啦。
Food
The first image that comes to mind when people think about Thanksgiving is a big, fat turkey. Turkeys are indeed enormous; the average Thanksgiving turkey is 15 pounds, or 6.8 kilograms. (This means that people have to eat turkey sandwiches for weeks after Thanksgiving!) The meal, often held in the late afternoon, also includes mashed potatoes with gravy, bread rolls, stuffing (which can be cooked inside the turkey), cranberry sauce, sweet corn, and other seasonal vegetables like sweet potato and green beans. For dessert, pumpkin pie is most popular, although many families enjoy other kinds of pie as well, such as apple pie, pecan pie or blueberry pie.
當(dāng)然啦，一說起感恩節(jié)，虎虎的腦中就浮現(xiàn)出一只鴕鳥大小的動(dòng)物（火雞不是鴕鳥?。。?。好想吃火雞啊，嘴都饞了……不過說起來(lái)，為什么感恩節(jié)要吃火雞呢？一位外國(guó)美女告訴了小編一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單易懂的原因：因?yàn)椤痣u多……這讓小編不由得想起，萬(wàn)圣節(jié)感恩節(jié)都吃南瓜難道也是因?yàn)槟瞎隙嗝矗。?/p>
此外，火雞在美國(guó)還被稱為“Tom Turkey”哦，因?yàn)閾?jù)說公火雞的名字就叫做Tom……世上千千萬(wàn)萬(wàn)的Tom啊該是高興還是悲哀呢。
Activities
After the meal, families relax and spend time together, sometimes watching American football games or Thanksgiving Day parades on television. Thanksgiving is also a time to volunteer or donate your time and money to charities. As people reflect on the blessings in their lives, they are inspired to help those who may be going through difficult times. Many churches and community organizations hold free dinners where people volunteer to buy, cook and serve the food. People also organize "food drives" where canned and packaged food is donated, collected and given to those in need. Also, companies and organizations can hold charity events, where employees, friends and families can pay to attend a dinner or dance and all of the money is donated to a charity.
說起為何感恩節(jié)的聚餐會(huì)選擇放在中午，外國(guó)朋友告訴小編說，因?yàn)檫@時(shí)候正好是美國(guó)的football season啦，所以吃完午飯全家會(huì)坐在電視機(jī)前一起看球賽。
此外，在感恩節(jié)這天，很多教堂會(huì)組織聚會(huì)，志愿者們會(huì)準(zhǔn)備烹飪食物，即使是那些并沒有宗教信仰的人，或者任何由于經(jīng)濟(jì)原因沒有辦法歡度節(jié)日的人，都可以來(lái)到教堂，和所有人濟(jì)濟(jì)一堂共度這個(gè)節(jié)日哦。如此一來(lái)“志愿者”就是非常重要的一個(gè)組成部分了。在美國(guó)，如果你說自己沒有參加過志愿者活動(dòng)的話，人家可能會(huì)偷偷地用BS的眼神看著你說“啊，這樣啊?！?/p>
最后要說的就是募捐（donation）啦，雖然在平時(shí)也會(huì)有各種募捐活動(dòng)，但是感恩節(jié)這一天會(huì)格外地?zé)狒[呢。對(duì)于美國(guó)人來(lái)說，“thanksgiving”，相較于“thanks”，它的意義更大的是在“giving”上面。
相關(guān)閱讀
Thanksgiving Day 感恩節(jié)特輯
奧巴馬感恩節(jié)赦免火雞
Black Friday 感恩節(jié)后的“黑色星期五”
感恩節(jié)后購(gòu)物季 欲進(jìn)且退
（來(lái)源：滬江英語(yǔ) 編輯：Julie）
